McGee's Surprise
by Aunna
Summary: Four years ago, Tim McGee fell in love with the beautiful Lily Evans, who was really a Potter. Now, he learns of her death and the possibility that her only son, a certain three-year-old Harry Potter, may be his biological son. Being thrust back into the world of magic had never been a part of the plan, but it seems impossible now, especially since Gibbs now knows he's a wizard!
1. The Letter

**Author's Note:**

**So, I see you have decided to read **_**McGee's Surprise.**_** This is the very first story I have written using NCIS and I haven't watched too many of the episodes. I know this story happens after Kate and Jenny died but, as I have no clue how old McGee is, I'm going to say he's twenty-eight. It's AU of both NCIS and Harry Potter and I really hope you like it! Also, I might switch over to first person after this chapter. I find that I can slip into a character's mind set a lot easier if I pretend to be them. Third person just seemed to work better this time than first.**

**Chapter One: The Letter**

Special Agent Timothy McGee hadn't been expecting anything unusual today. He had expected the normal head slap Gibbs gave to Tony after a smart aleck comment. He had expected Ziva to threaten to kill Tony with a paper clip. Hell, he had even expected Abby to come flying from the elevator to tackle him after she learned that he taken a small fall last night that resulted in a surprisingly large cut on his forehead.

The last thing he had expected was a letter from his ex-girlfriend's sister.

When he had arrived at his apartment and found the letter in Jethro's mouth he had thought it had been another letter from his publisher to get his ass moving on his next book. He had half-heartedly fought with the German Shepard to hand over the letter before the dog, surprisingly, put it on the coffee table and went to take a nap on the couch. Tim tiredly ran his hand through his hair and picked up the drool-covered letter. _Dear God,_ he prayed, _this better be nothing important!_

His heart practically stopped when he saw the return address. Petunia Dursley nee Evans, sister of a summer fling he had that happened in England a little over four years ago. That summer, and until the beginning of December, had been the best time of his life. He gave a small smile when he remembered Lily, the nineteen, almost twenty, year old that had stolen his heart a few months before his twenty third birthday. They had spent nearly every day together. Tim remembered taking her to fairs and carnivals. He remembered the one night they went all the way, sometime in the last week of November. He remembered breaking down to her a few weeks before that night, telling her that he was an American wizard. He remembered her laughing and telling him that it was alright, that she was a witch. Then came the night that Lily told Tim that she was married, that she had to stop seeing him before her husband found out about the affair, and, even if she did divorce her husband, she couldn't live with herself if she put him in danger of being killed by You-Know-Who because she was with him. He had let her go peacefully, but deep inside he had been absolutely devastated.

Had something happened to Lily? If something had happened, why was Petunia writing him instead of Lily? Was Lily hurt or, Merlin forbid, dead?

Tim opened the letter hurriedly and his heart dropped, than it rose a little, then the shock, and finally an anger he hadn't felt since he was eighteen and learned that his sister's boyfriend had punched her after she refused to go on a date with him since he was drunk. Merlin, why hadn't Lily told him! He would have handled it like a grown adult! He looked at the letter again and had to hold back the bile that was starting to rise in his throat.

_Dear Timothy,_

_This is your problem McGee, not mine! It's not my fault my freak of a sister got herself killed by that madman, Voldemort, along with her husband! I don't need to put my family's life in danger just because my sister and her good for nothing husband died! That old coot didn't even leave me with a choice all those years ago! Expected me to just take the tot and love it like my own! Well, I've got another thing coming for him! I've spent two years raising that ungrateful brat and I refuse to spend another year doing so!_

_I know you slept with Lily that November. She came crying to me a few months afterwards, saying she was pregnant and didn't know who the father was. Well, too bad for her! I'm going to be blunt McGee, I think Lily's baby is yours and I want you to do one of those D.N.A. test things. If the baby is yours, I'm signing custody over to you, if he's not yours I'm leaving him in some orphanage in America. _

_I refuse to keep a dirty little freak in my house! I won't let him contaminate my sweet little Dudders with his freakishness! I'll arrive in America on December 6__th,__ that'll give you enough time to prepare for a child. I have no doubt he's yours, looks just like you, at least he looks like you did in that picture Lily had. Here's to you not getting blown up like my idiot sister._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Petunia Dursley nee Evans_

Tim collapsed into a heap on the floor. Lily and her husband were dead, killed by the man that he and the other kids at Salem Academy had only heard rumors about. Voldemort, he didn't even know half of the things the monster had done and the name still made him shiver with fright, had killed the woman he had loved and the man she had married, leaving their son orphaned. But that might not even be true; he might be the little guy's father! He needed help and he needed it quick. He'd have to call Abby and see if she could do the D.N.A. test for him. But first, he needed to talk to his boss.

He carefully picked himself off the floor, trying his hardest not the fall back down from the shock of it all. Jethro watched him with rapt attention, waiting to see if his master would fall back down and if he needed his help. Tim gave a smile at the dog as he sat next to him, feeling comforted when the dog rested his head in his lap. He gave a worried frown as he stared at his, very reluctantly at first, loyal friend. Would Jethro try to attack the little boy if he did turn out to be his son? Would he be forced to give up his furry companion in order to keep his own flesh and blood? Tim knew what he'd do if it came down to it. It didn't make it any easier imagining his life without his dog.

Tim reached into the envelope and plucked out the remaining items. One was the little boy's birth certificate, which recorded his name as Harry James Potter, born the 31st of July as of three years ago. It was a possibility that he could be the child's father. The two other sheets were photos. One was of him and Lily at the beach one afternoon, watching the sunset. The other was of a small, dark haired child. He assumed it was Harry and he could see what Petunia was talking about. The child's eyes were shaped like his mother's, but appeared to be a mixed of his grass green and her emerald eyes. They appeared to have the same nose and, if he was looking correctly, the little boy was a southpaw too. The boy's hair was only a few shades darker than his and he looked fairly small for his age, Tim knew he had been a runt until he turned fifteen, and then he had sprung up a little. Maybe Harry would be like that too.

He gently put the pictures on the coffee table and pick up his cell phone before looking at the time. 2300, his boss should still be awake; he normally stayed up till 0100 working on his boat. He sighed and dialed the number, feeling slightly apprehensive.

"Gibbs."

"Boss, I need your help."

There was silence on the other end of the line and Tim was afraid that his boss had hung up on him. It wasn't any surprise that Tim rarely came to Gibbs for help, he wasn't exactly sure if he deserved it after growing up with his father, but he really didn't know what to do now. A child's whole life could become dependent on him and he had no clue how to be a parent! "What's the problem McGee?"

"Long story short, I met a girl a few years back, we had a little fling, told me she was married a week after we went all the way, and I just found out that she was pregnant and murdered about a year after she had the baby. And it might be mine…"

"… I was expecting to get this kind of call from DiNozzo, not you McGee."

"I know Boss."

"How long ago was this?"

"What, the fling? That happened a little over four years ago. Lily and her husband were murdered around three years ago. The baby, I think his name is Harry, should be around three years old now."

"How exactly is this playing out McGee?"

"Petunia, Lily's sister, is coming to America on the sixth. She wants me to get a D.N.A. test done and, if Harry is mine, she's signing over custody to me. If not, she said that she was going to drop him off at an orphanage here. She didn't say which one though."

"She say anything else?"

"Things that I shouldn't repeat because they make me want to puke."

There was a moment of silence. "… Mind if I ask a question?"

"Go ahead Boss."

"Does this Lily person have anything to do with the part of your file that is missing? I know you said the fling was four years ago, but we can't find anything on you after you turned eleven until you turned sixteen. Director Vance is getting a little antsy about it."

McGee could hear the silent 'and I am too' at the end. "Yeah, in a way, she does."

"Are you going to explain it to me tomorrow?"

"I've got one phone call to make before then. As soon as I get the all clear I promise I'll tell you everything."

"I'm holding you to that McGee." The line went dead.

Tim sighed and dropped his head into his hands. It was bad enough that he had to tell his boss about, possibly, being a father, now he had to reveal a secret his family had been keeping since the Revolutionary War. He knew he would have to answer about the missing years in his file eventually, but he had been hoping that he still had time. Dear Merlin he was royally screwed!

A quick glance at his clock showed that the time was inching closer to 2330 now. The Mage-in-Chief Vincent Smith, also Tim's best friend growing up, was currently in California on business. In California, the time should be around 2030, enough time for Tim to explain his dilemma to his old friend if he wasn't too busy.

Tim removed Jethro from his lap before rushing to his room to find the old two-way mirror he and Vince had used in Salem. He smiled when his hand connected with the hilt of the mirror. Vince and him had used these mirrors to coordinate a lot of small pranks and secret meetings growing up, something neither of them had fully grown out of. "Wisdom and Courage make a mighty team." Tim whispered to the mirror before the glass began to ripple.

A few moments passed before the familiar face of Vincent appeared on the surface. Vince was older than Tim by only three months, but often looked older than he was because his once silvery blonde hair was streaked with a dark gray. Vince's brown eyes looked weary and worn, but instantly brightened once they met Tim's. "Timmy, old pal! I hadn't been expecting a call from you for a few more weeks!" Vince exclaimed. Then he noticed the worried look in Tim's eyes. "Okay McGee, what kind of trouble did you get into this time?"

Tim gave a weak chuckle before rubbing the back of his neck. "You remember that summer I spent in Europe after I got transferred out of Norfolk but before I joined NCIS?" he asked, feeling like a child caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar.

"Yeah, that was the summer you told me you'd only be there until August and you ended up staying until early December. What about it?"

"Well there was this girl…"

"And…?"

"We hit off pretty well and were together for a few months…"

"Then what happened?"

"She told me she was married."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, then I got a letter from her sister earlier tonight."

"Why would her sister want to talk to you?"

"Lily and her husband were killed a few years back."

"… Holy shit…"

"Turns out Lily's only son survived… and the kid might be mine."

There was a long moment of silence before Vincent burst into laughter. "Only you McGee! This would only happen to you!"

Tim rolled his eyes at his friend. In all retrospect, he could safely say that this would only happen to him. "That's not even the best part Vince."

"How could this get any more complicated?"

"My boss wants to know why he can't find any records on me from when I turned eleven till I turned sixteen."

"…Timmy, I swear you have the worst luck out of anybody I know."

"What am I supposed to do Vince? Gibbs is a muggle, and if I tell him, I'm going to have to tell everyone on my team!"

"Then go ahead and tell them!"

"…What?"

Tim was completely shocked. Vince was going to let him tell the team? Wasn't that against the Statue of Secrecy?

"They deserve to know Tim." Vince said his voice suddenly soft, "I'd rather a few muggles know then lose a good man and agent because he was too afraid to use something that could save his life, along with his fellow agent's lives."

"Thanks Vince."

"Anytime. Oh, before I forget, I have a question for you."

"And that would be?"

"If this kid is yours, can I be the godfather?"

Tim gave a small chuckle. "Who else would I ask? That snotty British exchange student we got in fifth year? What was his name again?"

"Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy was his name. So, I'm taking that as a yes?"

"Of course you are, stupid."

Tim watched as the president of the Wizarding half of the United States did a small victory dance. Vincent Smith might have been a man that had a lot of power, but he was still a child at heart. Tim always savored the moments that he could make his best friend happy. This chat alone was making him feel less nervous about his possible entry to parenthood.

"Hey Tim!

Tim turned his attention back to the mirror.

"I'll be at NCIS tomorrow. Maybe I can help your team get an affinity for magic."

"Thank Vince. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Anything for an old friend."

With that, Vince faded from view. He shook his head at his friend's plan and hoped to Merlin and God that his team took it well. With that, McGee crawled into bed, dreaming the moment his head hit the pillow.

The whole night was filled of a dark haired boy playing with a sandy haired man, both being watched by graying grandfather in the background.


	2. Chats with the Team

**Chapter Two: Chats with the Team**

It was official. Tim was going to lose his mind and his breakfast before he went anywhere near NCIS.

His talk last night had managed to soothe his frayed nerves well enough for him to get a few hours of sleep, but the moment the sunlight came filtering through his window the anxiety and queasiness returned. Tim had spent his whole life trying to keep his magic a secret. His father had repeatedly told him the story of his Great-Grandma Maria, who had told a boyfriend that she was a witch, and was dragged out of her home, tied to the back of a car, and was drug for nearly five miles before her boyfriend and his friends finally let her go. She had abandoned her home the same night and ran off to D.C. Tim had checked his family tree multiple times and hadn't found any record of a woman named Maria in there, but his father had been telling the story since he was six. He did fear telling anyone outside the Wizarding World.

He shook his head as he stepped out of his apartment. He didn't have anything to fear with the team. Abby would probably be angry with him for a little while because he didn't tell her, but that would eventually fade, leaving him to answer all her questions. He honestly looked forward to explain magic to her. If he had to list any muggle that would accept magic, Abby would probably be at the top of his list.

Tony would probably laugh at him at first. Claim that he was getting too wrapped up in his computer game and wanting to be the Elf Lord that he was in the game in real life. Tim figured he could cast the Zipper Lip Hex at Tony to make him see that he wasn't kidding. He chuckled as he remembered sending the same hex at Vincent when they were in school. Tony and Vincent were almost identical in their personalities, right down to the bad relationships with their fathers and the nicknames they made up for him. In the end, Tony would probably have his back, just like Vince did.

He couldn't decide if Ziva would be excited that he was a wizard or if she would try to kill him on the spot. He had heard that some agents of the Mossad immediately killed anyone with any sort of magical abilities. He didn't know if Ziva carried those views as well, but he hoped that, even if she did, she'd be able to overlook it and see her friend and not an enemy.

Gibbs… He couldn't decide how Gibbs would react. On one hand, he hated it when Tim lied to him. On the other he had reacted quite well too many other things that McGee had let slip. The most recent had been three weeks ago, when Gibbs decided to go on a job with him and Ziva and, when Tim when to take off his hoodie, he saw burn mark that Tim had gained when he was seven. His father had found an old branding iron and took it to his side. Gibbs had been furious when he learned what happened. Tim hadn't understood what the big deal was, his father, along with many other pureblood fathers, had done things like this and much worse when he was a kid. Now that there was a possibility that he was a father he understood a little better where Gibbs was coming from. He couldn't imagine putting a red hot branding iron onto his son's skin, much less doing anything to hurt him. He just didn't understand why Gibbs wanted to try and press charges two decades later, after Tim had already been beaten almost to death and disowned when he told his father that he had no intention of joining the Navy. It was too late, wasn't it?

He blinked when he realized that he had reached the NCIS building. He didn't remember getting into the car, much less the drive there. He shook his head as he took the keys out of the ignition. Driving required his full attention and his little stunt could have gotten him killed. Plus, it could have possibly made a little boy an orphan all over again.

That thought alone sent shivers down his spine and a deep feeling of dread to settle in his stomach. He was going to be a single father; he had been thinking about the boy to often to just let Petunia give him to an orphanage if the D.N.A. test proved opposite. Biological or not, he was going to raise little Harry. He was going to give him the life he never had, a life where his father loved him, no matter what.

Tim saw Tony first, as they had entered the elevator together. "Hey Probie!" Tony said, then taking in Tim's appearance, "Long night?"

Tim nodded, afraid that he'd blurt everything out to the senior agent. He wanted to explain to Gibbs first before he told the rest of the team. Clean-up would be much easier if it was only Gibbs. Plus, he really didn't fancy trying to Oblivate an ex-Mossad assassin. That would harder than trying to survive a Killing Curse, English or American version.

As they reached the bullpen, Tim remembered the first time he had heard Avada Kedavra. He had just turned twenty-one and he and Vincent decided to go to England. Their pen-pal, a man by the name of Frank, had been fighting in the First Wizarding War and both had wanted to come and help. They hadn't been on English soil for five minutes before they were ambushed. Barely dodging the bright green curses, they managed to Apparate away to Frank's. Frank's mother had hurried them inside, taking them to the then nineteen-years-old's room.

Both Americans had been completely terrified and shaken by their encounter. Frank had to spend nearly three hours calming them down before he could explain the curse. Then the boys had to explain to Frank their version of the Killing Curse, Momento Mortis, and the part that made it different than Avada Kedavra, its counter-curse, Restitue Animam. The counter-curse only worked up to five minutes after death, but it was better than nothing back then.

Tim struggled to focus on his paper work as his boss stepped off the elevator. He looked up at the Director's office, noticing that Vance was watching him with rapt attention. The man next to him made Tim relax slightly. Vincent hadn't been lying when he said that he would be at NCIS. He gave a small smile at his friend, getting a wink and two thumbs up in return. Shaking his head, but grinning all the same, he wondered how he had managed to become friends with the class clown and keep him after all these years.

"Gibbs, McGee, my office, now!" Vance shouted, causing Tim to jump out of his seat. He glowered at Vince before moving quickly out of the bullpen. He knew that his boss knew exactly what this was about and he refused to make him upset by keeping everyone waiting. Tim just wanted to get this over with.

Vance's office was quiet as he and Gibbs entered. Eye contact was briefly made between Tim and Vince, revealing Tim's fear. The older wizard gave a brief smile, succeeding in calmer the younger to a degree. Gibbs planted his hand on Tim's shoulder, causing the agent to jump, but relaxed again once he saw the comforting smile on his boss' face. "Mr. Smith here says you have something to share with us Agent McGee." Vance said, giving Tim the death stare.

"Yes sir."

"Why haven't you told us earlier McGee?" Vance asked.

Vincent spoke up this time. "He didn't have our permission Director." He said, throwing a glance at his friend, "It's very vital that this information stays between us and whoever else Agent McGee decides to involve. What he has to share has led to the deaths of millions of men, women, and children for over hundreds of years. If anyone he shares this too tries to eliminate him from the living they will be handled accordingly."

This was the Vincent that McGee was terrified of, the 'no-nonsense' and 'death threats' Vincent. It was the reason he worked so hard to stay out of trouble and keep his old friend calm. Vincent didn't make threats, he kept promises. He had killed a man for trying to hurt Tim before; he had no reason that he wouldn't now.

Vance looked fairly intimated by the man in front of him. He looked over to Tim for confirmation and the agent could only nod. Sighing, he turned his attention back to Vincent. "You have my word that I will not let any harm befall Agent McGee because of what is said behind these doors."

Vincent looked at Gibbs. "McGee is my agent," Gibbs said, "and his safety comes before any of my opinions."

"Go on Tim."

Tim startled at the sound of Vince's voice. As much as he wanted to tell Gibbs and Vance, the fear from all of the stories his father had told him held true. He was terrified of how they would react. If they reacted badly, years of hard work and dedication would be lost.

And if he didn't tell them now, the result would be the same.

Tim swallowed his fears and locked his eyes with Vincent's. He would be his anchor and make sure he didn't back out. Or speak for him where it got to difficult. Either way Vincent had his six.

"For hundreds for years, there have been two types of people in the world, the mundane and the magical…"

Tim's explanation lasted for hours. He barreled through the Statue of Secrecy and didn't flinch when he told the story of how it came into effect. He explained the different societies of witches and wizards, from the medieval British community to the modern society of the United States. He let Vincent explain the politics and resumed the explanation when they reached the First Wizarding War. He explained the ruthless ways of Voldemort, though he refused to say the name again, and how many purebloods sided with him. Tim started shaking when he told them that he was a pureblood, but had refused to follow his father's ways and had been disowned. He continually told how he hadn't believed anything that the purebloods or You-Know-Who's beliefs, until his boss head slapped him and told him to calm down and continue. The young man finished with the summer he met Lily and how that had ended to the letter he had received last night.

The room was silent as he moved onto the actual casting of magic. He cast his Patronus, which had changed over the years to resemble a German Shepard and showed his Animangus form, which was an owl, a Spectacled Owl to be exact. Tim and Vincent had a small duel which resulted in Tim being stunned and Vincent to had frog feet. Both men had laughed at Vincent, but Gibbs had demanded that Tim be 'returned to normal as soon as possible.'

The room fell into silence again as the four men took in the information. Tim was shaking and feeling nauseous. Vincent had his hand on Tim's shoulder but it wasn't helping. The only thing that could get Tim to feel normal again was a confirmation from his boss that he didn't care what Tim was, that he was still a valued member of his team. Then he jumped when he heard the one thing he hadn't expected. Laughter.

Gibbs was laughing after learning that his agent was a wizard.

Everyone stared at Gibbs. Tim was honestly wondering if his boss had gone crazy. Gibbs looked at Tim and gave him the largest grin that he had every graced his leader's face. "This doesn't really bother me McGee." He said, "DiNozzo's one too."

Tim felt like fainting. Tony was a wizard too? He must have gone to a different school, because he would have clearly remembered him going to Salem is he had. Tony was only four years his senior, he most definitely would have seen him for two or three years.

"Ziva?" Tim asked. "Does she know?"

"Yes and she doesn't care."

"Abby?"

"She's a squib."

"Ducky?"

"His brother was a muggleborn."

"Jimmy?"

Gibbs had to think on that one. "No, but I believe that Ducky plans to tell him sometime next week."

Tim visibly relaxed after that. He didn't have to be afraid of the team rejecting him! Well, now Tony was probably go to force him into duels, but that was welcomed compared to all the scenarios that had previously occupied his mind. He could prove to Tony that he was a competent wizard. He hadn't gone through Auror training before joining Norfolk for no reason.

Vincent was smiling gleefully. "Alright!" he shouted, "Now that that's out the way, you can tell the rest of your team and after work I'll show you your surprise!"

Tim looked slightly apprehensive about this development. The last time Vincent had said that he had a surprise for him he had ended up with bright green hair for a month and got a severe case of the stomach flu. "What surprise Vince?" he asked.

"If I know you, and I do know you McGee, you're going to take this kid in whether he's yours or not." Vince said smiling like a child who had just found out his school had been canceled all week, "So I took the liberty of taking care of some problems for you!"

"Are you insane?"

"No, I'm just going to be the best godfather ever!"

Tim shook his head before walking out of the Director's office with Gibbs. "Why didn't you tell me before McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Deep settled fear instilled by my father."

Gibbs face contorted from worry and confusion to anger and rage. McGee flinched, which caused Gibbs to rein in his temper, but he could still see the homicidal urge in his boss' eyes. "Your father deserves to rot in Hell McGee."

"I know Boss."

The moment they walked into the bullpen Ziva and Tony started shouting questions. Tim unconsciously slipped behind his boss, causing the older man to give a small smirk. Tim trusted Gibbs to help him and that made him happier than anything else.

"QUIET DOWN!"

Both Agents went dead silent when they heard their boss yell. Tim flinched a little, but he knew none of his anger was directed at him. Gibbs was just getting frustrated.

Gibbs looked at DiNozzo. "Looks like you're not the only wizard on this team DiNozzo." He said before stalking off, most likely to find some coffee.

Tony and Tim stared at each other for a few minutes before Tim finally found his voice. "I understand if you're upset with me Tony." Tim said, suddenly feeling small and alone, "I should have told you a lot sooner and…"

"McGee, shut up."

Tim started smiling when he noticed Tony's grin. "You think I care that you didn't tell me, McSecrets?" he said, "Let's remember that I didn't tell you either. We're both at fault here Probie."

Tim threw a quick glance at Ziva, who gave him a small smile. "I am not like the other members of the Mossad McGee," she said, "I refuse to kill someone just because they were born with an ability I wasn't."

Tim was going to reply but was engulfed by an over-enthusiastic Goth. "Timmy, you're a wizard?" Abby screeched. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have been totally cool with it!"

"Abigail, please allow young Timothy here to breathe." Ducky said as he stepped off the elevator with Gibbs. "I am sure he had every intention of telling you when he was ready."

Abby detached herself and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Gibbs said you needed a D.N.A. test done?" she asked.

"Yeah, I do."

"Just bring down the samples when you have them McGee."

"Thanks Abby."

Tim looked until he spotted the clock. It was already 22:00! Had it really taken him the entire day to explain the Wizarding World to Gibbs and Vance?

"Go McGee." Gibbs said, "We'll see you tomorrow."

McGee nodded his thanks and waved goodbye before rushing to his car.

If Vincent thought that he was going to cook and make Tim eat it, he had another thing coming!


	3. Surprises, Surprises

**Author's Note:**

**Hey there! Wow, I didn't think this many people would like this story! This chapter is going to focus on McGee and Vincent, though, as the title implies, there's a little surprise at the end. I noticed there was a little confusion with how Gibbs knew about magic and I'll explain that and everyone else next chapter. Or the chapter after that depends on how this chapter ends. Thanks so much for the support and barbaratakuyaho, that's a challenge that I happily accept! Read and review please!**

**Chapter Three: Surprises, Surprises**

This had been the last thing he had been expecting when Vincent said he had a surprise for him. Not that this wasn't appreciated, that was the farthest thing from the truth, but he had no clue how he was going to repay him for this. Tim hadn't even begun planning for this, though he supposed it should have been one of his primary concerns once he learned that he was most definitely becoming a father to a three-year-old. He guessed that was another reason he and Vincent were such close friends, when McGee couldn't think straight, Vince did it for him.

"I know it isn't much," Vince said, dragging his foot through the dirt like a child, "and I know it's going to take a little work to get it to its original state, but I figured you'd like it. You always had a soft spot for older things like this."

"It's perfect Vince."

And that's what it truly was, perfect. The little two story house had obviously seen some better days, as the shutter to the windows were broken and the yellow paint covering the exterior walls was peeling off, but it was the perfect house. It obvious had enough room to accommodate him, Harry, and Jethro. There was a nice sized backyard and the front had a small flower bed. Tim didn't mind that it was a little beat up, he could fix it up. He looked at Vince, smiling, "How did you find this place?"

"This place came into my grandparents' possession during World War II." Vincent said, "No one has used it since and I figured, hey, might as well give it a purpose again. Besides, I can totally see you now, chasing your kid around the yard, Jethro not too far behind. You'll be happy Tim and that's the best thing I can hope for."

Before he could comprehend what he was doing, Tim had Vincent locked in a bear hug. The blush rose to his cheeks quickly, but he only tightened the embrace. "Thank you so much!" he whispered.

"Anything for a friend Tim."

"Might as well be your brother at this point Vince."

Vincent laughed and pulled away. "I guess we are, aren't we?" he said, the grin never leaving his face, "Mom and Dad did let you live with us after you ran away."

"They were my parents as much as they were yours." Tim said, "Besides, I'm disowned. My birth parents are nothing more than egg and sperm donors now."

"You have no intention of letting them know they have a grandson, do you?"

"They don't deserve it."

The two men were silent for a moment before Vincent took the initiative to show Tim the inside of the house. Tim willingly followed, wishing for nothing more than to escape the awkward silence that had developed.

The inside of the house was in better shape than the outside. The walls in the living room had been recently painted to a nice shade of pine green and the wooden floors had been polished back to their former glory. The kitchen had the same paint job and been updated appliance wise, though the original wooden cabinets were still in place. The downstairs bathroom was a little small since it doubled as the laundry room, but Tim didn't mind. It wasn't like he was going to throw a party here every other week.

The upstairs consisted of three bedrooms and a bathroom. The bathroom still had the original yellow tiles on the wall and the tub was a little cracked, but it still served its purpose. The largest of the three bedrooms had been declared Tim's room, as Vincent had managed to get his bed out of his apartment and into the house without Tim's knowledge. He knew there was no backing out of this once he saw the familiar mattress. Vince wasn't going to give him the opportunity.

The second bedroom was slightly smaller than the first one and was obviously decorated to belong to a young boy. The walls were painted to resemble outer space. The ceiling was covered in glow in the dark stars and little miniature rockets that hung. The bed had been shaped to match a rocket ship, still somewhat shaped like a crib so the little boy wouldn't fall off in the middle of the night, but still allowing a small child the ability to get out of bed in the morning. Tim gave Vince a knowing glance. There was no way all of this had been here since WWII.

The third room had been modified into an office, though there was a small twin size bed in the corner for guests. Vince had gotten his typewriter and his laptop into the room and Tim had a sneaking suspicion that the rest of his belongings had been placed in the attic. The barking outside suggested that Jethro was here as well. "Do you want me to move in tonight?" Tim asked, knowing the answer.

"I've already got your stuff here." Vincent said, "Your old landlord was a right bitch. Told her you wouldn't be living in that apartment of yours anymore and she practically flipped her lid. Kept going on about a two-weeks' notice and this month's rent. Don't worry about it though, I handled the rent part."

"Vince!"

"Hey, I used your money if it makes you happy."

Tim sighed and then got on the defensive. "How the hell did you get into my bank account?"

"… That's for me to know and you to find out."

Tim laughed, but was cut short by a yelp. He looked at Vincent to see if he had somehow hurt the man, but he was looking at Tim like it was him who yelped. Then there was the slamming of the car door and the screeching of tires. Outside the window both men could see a rental flying down the road and disappearing into the night.

Intrigued, Vincent went downstairs to see what could have possibly made the yelp. Tim's field agent skills kicked in as he pulled out his Sig and followed, motioning for Vincent to get behind him when they reached the first floor. Rolling his eyes, Vince complied. _'Thank Merlin for small favors!' _McGee thought as they approached the front door.

Tim put his hand on the doorknob, throwing a look back at Vincent. The Mage-in-Chief nodded and leapt to the left side of the door. An audible gulp was heard before the door was flung wide open and both men waited for gunshots that would never be fired. Vincent looked at Tim, who nodded and both men stuck their heads out. There were no invaders or anyone who looked remotely dangerous, especially since it was now 0030. "Tim?" Vincent asked, his voice rising in pitch as he looked down.

Following the direction his friend's eyes were pointed, Tim nearly fainted. On the porch was the little boy from the photo Petunia had sent him. He was bruised and bloody and was looking at the two men with obvious fear. Now Tim understood why Petunia hadn't bothered to let him see the boy first, she didn't want him to know that Harry was abused. The picture she had sent had probably been edited so he wouldn't suspect a thing.

Tim got down on his knees so he could be on the same eye level as Harry. The toddler flinched, but didn't make any move to bolt. That was probably because his right leg was at such an odd angle, but Tim liked to think that the little boy trusted him. He had no clue what Petunia had told Harry about him. "Hey there Harry," Tim said, "are you okay?"

"Hurts." Harry whimpered.

"I can see that. Do you know who I am?"

The little boy stared at him for a moment before his eyes brightened and a smile overtook his face even though he was in pain. "Daddy!" he shouted.

Tim laughed. "Yeah, I'm your daddy." He said, not sure how Harry would react if he tried to hold him.

Harry made up his mind for him and latched onto his arm. Tim carefully maneuvered the boy into his arms and held him close, wondering how a boy who appeared so hurt and battered could come to trust him in less than five minutes.

Throwing a glance behind him, Tim motioned for Vince to get his cell. Nodding, Vince disappeared into the house for a moment before returning. Taking the offered item, Tim dialed Gibbs' number.

"You better have a good reason for waking me up McGee."

"Boss, I can't believe I'm saying this again, but I have a problem. And we're going to need Ducky here ASAP."

"What's going on?"

"Petunia decided to drop off Harry early. And she didn't tell me that he was her family's personal punching bag."


	4. Little One

**Author's Note:**

**AW HELL YEAH! I'm glad so many people are reading this! You have no idea how happy it makes me when I look at my story stats and see that over 1,000 people have read this story today! (As of 9-25-13) Now, I've read all the reviews and, as for magic not being used to fix the house, Tim only saw the house for the first time in the last chapter. He hasn't had time to use any spells to repair it and he likes the smallness of it. Remember, in Harry Potter most purebloods live in fairly large houses or mansions and Tim is a pureblood who wants to forget about his life growing up.**

**To explain the 'OMG, you're writing a story with magical beings and there's no magic at all!' complaint, can you wait a little longer? I'm going to mention a little magic in this chapter, but not much. I'm building up to it, especially with the plan I have for NCIS. I read one review that asked about what would happen with the whole fifteen hour workday and the occasional weekend and I haven't worked out all the kinks out of that one yet. But Tim WILL continue to work at NCIS! I could never take him out! He fits too well!**

**Chapter Four: Little One**

Gibbs arrived thirty minutes later, as he had to retrieve Ducky from his house as well as rouse himself from his own slumber. Tim had brought the boy into the house and was lying on the couch that Vince had conjured from a broken lamp. Harry had started shivering violently when the magic had taken place, making both men wary about using magic on him to heal the bruises and broken bones. It would have been much easier and a little less painful for the boy, but they hadn't wanted to cause a panic attack and cause his injuries to worsen.

Vince led Gibbs and Ducky out to the couch, where Tim now had Harry and himself in an upright position. The little boy gasped and hid his face in Tim's neck as the two older men approached, leaving Vince to watch from the doorway. Tim shared a look with the good doctor before returning his gaze to the little boy in his arms. "Harry you have to look up buddy."

Harry lifted his head for a moment to stare at his daddy before switching his gaze to the two older men standing mere feet from them. The older of the two gave him shivers, reminding him of the mean man that his Auntie had taken him to that poked him with sharp things and made icky things go inside. She called the pointy things needles. Harry didn't like needles. Who knew how many the man had! But his daddy was calm around him so Harry guessed that the man wasn't as mean as the man Auntie had poke him.

The younger man that looked way older than his daddy made him feel safe. He looked strong and smart and he hoped that he wouldn't hurt him like his Uncle had. He had been strong too, often leaving Harry with bruises that would last for weeks upon weeks at a time. But this man's eyes, though they were blue like his Uncle's eyes, weren't cold or filled with hatred. They were smiling eyes, though the smile was hiding something. But why would this man be mad with him? Harry had to sit and think about it for a moment before it hit him. Freaks like him weren't supposed to sit on the couch! He was going to be in so much trouble!

Tim was troubled when the little boy in his lap tried to squirm away. He had been fine a moment ago and Tim had never felt so ecstatic when he held the boy close to his chest, feeling that little heartbeat rap against him. The sudden want to detach from him was unnerving Tim at the least and he gripped the little tyke closer. "You can't go running around right now buddy, your leg's messed up."

Harry continued to squirm despite his explanation. Nothing the little boy did could dislodge the warm arms that encircled him. He thought about it for a minute before he came to a startling revelation. His daddy didn't know how to handle freaks! Well, he'd have to tell him. Harry didn't want to get in trouble later for keeping secrets from him. "I not 'loud on the couch!" he whimpered, continuing his struggles, "Freaks not 'loud on the couch! I freak, not 'loud!"

The little boy's declaration broke the hearts of everyone in the room. They wondered how anyone could let an innocent little boy like Harry believe such horrible things. Harry's words hurt Tim the most. The young agent was going to be the boy's father even if the D.N.A. test proved that he wasn't the man who helped father the child. To hear his son say those things broke his heart into a million tiny pieces. He glanced at his boss, somehow conveying his need to find who ever had done this to his child, and get a nod in return. Tim returned his attention to Harry and sighed. "Harry, is that a rule your aunt gave you?"

Harry nodded his head quickly. Tim felt rage grow inside him, but he keep it under wraps as to not scare the child. He had been through enough fear in his short lifetime and he was going to fill the rest of the years with smiles. "I have different rules than your aunt, okay?" A nod was Harry's only response. "One of my rules is that you aren't to be mean, whether to yourself or someone else, it doesn't matter. You are not to be mean. So that means you can't call yourself a freak."

"But I got magic!"

Tim shook his head and pulled out his wand, a twelve inch wand made of vine wood and dragon heartstring, and turned a book into a dove. Harry stared in wonder at the bird for a moment before Tim returned it to its original state. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the surprise and wonder on Gibbs' and Ducky's faces and he gave a brief smile. "I've got magic too buddy." Tim said, "Does that make me a freak?"

Harry mauled it over in his head for a moment. His daddy did magic, which would explain why his auntie had called him a freak too, but he was nice. He was letting him sit on the couch too! Hesitantly, Harry shook his head.

"That means you're not a freak either." Tim said, "I never want to hear you call yourself that again, okay?"

Harry nodded. Tim knew that Harry would slip up again, no one could bounce back from two years of abuse that quickly, but he'd do his best to reverse the effects of Petunia's treatment of him. "I've got another rule Harry." The boy's attention went back to his father. "Anything your aunt and uncle told you is a lie. The second rule is that you aren't to follow any of their rules unless I tell you it's okay. Like, if they gave you a bedtime, then it's an okay rule. But, if they make you do stuff little kids aren't supposed to do, then I don't want you to do it."

"Chores?"

"The only chore I want you to do is keep your room clean."

Harry looked completely shocked at this revelation. Tim turned his attention to the men in the room. "Ducky, can you look at Harry for me?" he asked, "I could use magic to do it, but I don't want to freak him out."

"Of course I will Timothy!" the doctor said, "Whatever made you think I wouldn't?"

"I'm just checking Ducky." Tim said. He then handed Harry over to Ducky. Harry gave a little bit of a fight, but relaxed when the ME ran his fingers through Harry's hair. Tim smiled at them before motioning for Vince and Gibbs to follow him to the kitchen.

Tim sighed as he sat in the one chair in the kitchen. Vince jumped up onto the counter, while Gibbs leaned on the counter opposite of the Mage-in-Chief. "What am I going to do?" Tim asked, "The adoption was going to be hard enough, now I've got a case of child abuse on top of it! Man, what am I going to do?"

"For one you're going to get custody of this kid." Gibbs said, "Then we're going to hunt down the bastard that did this."

"Of course we will," Vince said, "and I'm going to launch an investigation into this. I mean, why hadn't WCPS taken Harry away? They have traces in Britain; I know this for a fact. They would've been alerted the first time they hit Harry. Why the hell did they ignore them?"

"Lily was always telling me how much Petunia hated her." Tim said, "The one time I met her, well, she wasn't the sweetest person in the world towards either of us. There's no way she'd ever leave custody to her. Lily must have written a will. She must have left someone else to care for him!"

Gibbs moved from his spot and rested his hand on his agent's shoulder. "We'll get them McGee." He said, "We'll hunt them down to the ends of the earth to make sure they pay for what they did."

His agent nodded and looked at him. "I didn't get a chance to ask you earlier," he said, "but how did you learn about magic?"

Gibbs laughed as the memory came back to him. "To make a long story short, I walked in on DiNozzo casting some spells at his place, something about wards. Almost got my memory wiped too."

Tim nodded again and stood up just as Ducky came into the room, a sleeping Harry on his hip. "What's the verdict Ducky?" Gibbs asked, throwing an arm around his agent's shoulder.

"He's not doing too well, I'm afraid." Ducky said, "His left shoulder is dislocated and both his right wrist and right leg are broken. Thankfully most of his ribs are only bruised and not broken and the rest are perfectly fine. He also suffered a head injury, but it's an older injury and he is on the mend. I'm mostly worried about Harry's fever. From what young Harry has told me, he's had it for nearly a week now and his relatives have given him nothing to help relieve the symptoms, much less try and cure him. I suggest taking him to a hospital where he'll be able to get the medical treatment he so desperately needs."

Tim nodded before taking the tyke from Ducky. "You two can stay the night here," he said, "and Vince, can you come with me to St. Francis? I know you have to go back to work soon…"

"I'm coming Tim, I'm going to need the official documentation in order to start the investigation."

After making sure both men were fine and knew where they could sleep, Vince and Tim Apparated to St. Francis, causing both men to feel like they were about to lose their lunch. "Remind me why we Apparated again?" Tim asked.

"No Floo Network and you hate flying on a broom."

Nodding, Tim went into the looming building, quickly followed by Vince. The nurse at the reception station turned her attention away from her computer to acknowledge them. Before she could get a word out Vincent began to speak. "This boy was abandoned on my friend's front porch while he was in the process of adopting him." He said, "He needs immediate medical attention and his records to be faxed to me immediately."

"Sir, we can't…"

"Those records are going to be used in a child abuse case and I'm sure his father will allow it, won't you Tim?"

A silent nod was all the nurse needed. She sighed and paged for a pediatric doctor before motioning them to sit. Moments later a man in his late forties with dark brown eyes and hair completely run over with gray. He spotted the two men with his newest patient, quickly whisking the little boy away, leaving the men to do nothing but sit and wait.


	5. Revelations

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone! So, Harry is at the hospital and, since I don't do hospital scenes well, I'm going to skip it and just describe Harry's injuries and homecoming. Also, I hope to have the reveal of Harry's parentage and maybe, JUST MAYBE, have a little Dursley torture.**

**Okay, so I got a few questions on why I had Ducky and Gibbs go to Tim's house. Yeah, they didn't do much, but I consider them McGee's support group. They help him keep his head in stressful situations. Also, Vincent is only doing the investigation against WCPS (Wizarding Child Protective Services) and why they hadn't done anything to get Harry away from the Dursleys and find out about what the Potter will says. Gibbs and his team are going to do the initial investigation against the Dursleys themselves, which will probably be considered Dursley torture by itself. I know it looks like I'm just trying to keep them in here for no other reason than for them being there, but I do have a plan. It just isn't very clear yet!**

**Chapter Five: Revelations**

Even with magic, it was still two weeks before Harry was allowed to come home. In that time Tim had managed to fix the old house up to its former glory, even keeping the yellow paint at Abby's insistence. Everything from his apartment had been moved in and Jethro had adjusted well to the change. Tim was still waiting to introduce the German Shepard to Harry since the hospital hadn't allowed the dog inside as he wasn't a service dog. But, judging from the way Jethro acted when the neighbor's kids came out to play, he wouldn't have anything to worry about when the little boy came home.

Vincent had gone back to work, his top priority being the investigation against WCPS. When his actions were challenged he pointed out that, if the British had managed to get that out of touch with helping their children, than how bad off was the United States? He promised to look into the American version of WCPS and that got the other politicians off his back. He had learned that a man by the name of Dumbledore had sealed the will of the Potters after their deaths, resulting in the will never being read. He was also the one responsible for placing Harry with his relatives and had supposedly taken on the responsibility of all issues reported. From the reports he got from the British, he concluded that Dumbledore had never once visited Harry when the warning bells went off. He had friends in the British Auror Department looking into it.

Gibbs and Vance had quickly apprehended Petunia Dursley and her husband and child. The child was being sent back to England to stay with his aunt until their investigation was finished. The elder Dursleys were brought into NCIS headquarters, where they had been questioned by both Gibbs and Ziva. Tim remembered watching both interrogations, nearly losing his lunch at the male Dursleys testimony.

_FLASHBACK:_

_ Tim watched anxiously as the walrus of a man called Vernon Dursley paced the room, occasionally turning his attention to the glass which hid the agents who had brought him in. He would curse and flaunt the fact that he wasn't an American citizen, so they had no power to hold him here. All Tim wanted to do was to rush in there and punch the older man in the face. There was no doubt in his mind that this man had helped hurt his son._

_ The only thing that held him back was Tony's hand on his shoulder. "Come on McGee," he said, "we're going to let this guy stew for a few more minutes. Let's go see what his wife's got to say."_

_ The younger agent nodded and followed the Senior Field Agent into the second observation room. On the other side of the glass was Petunia Dursley, still as foul looking as Tim remembered her to be. He tried to be just and not to judge her all those years ago, but knowing what she might have helped do to Harry made him lose all reservations. She hadn't tried to stop Harry from thinking himself a freak, why should he try and make her seem beautiful when she was nothing but an ugly walking bean pole?_

_ To say he was surprised to see Ziva walk in the room would have been an understatement. He had thought Gibbs would be interrogating both Dursleys. Though that had surprised him as well, he knew that they would be sent back to England to be tried for their crimes, as the abuse hadn't happened on American soil. This interrogation was bound to be interesting. _

_ Ziva stared down the putrid woman across from here for nearly ten minutes before the questioning began. "How did you do it?"_

_ "Do what!" Petunia screeched, "I haven't done a thing!"_

_ "You do remember the little boy you abandoned, don't you?"_

_ Petunia was silent. "You left him at a federal agent's house." Ziva continued, "A federal agent who I happen to be on the same team as. I haven't seen the child yet, but from what pictures I have seen, you used him as a punching bag, yes?"_

_ Again Petunia remained silent. "How did you get him over here?" Ziva asked, "Any official that saw that little boy would have called the proper authorities immediately. How did you get pass them?"_

_ Petunia remained silent. "If you are not got to admit to anything, I may just assume that you did this by yourself and let your oaf of a husband free. You'll go to prison and never see your little boy again. Dudley was his name, wasn't it?"_

_ That got Petunia to talk. "Vernon had a friend that had a private plane." Petunia said, "He said that he would fly us over, but he didn't want to see the boy, so we put him into a box to keep him out of sight. Had to keep him in there for a few days before we could figure out where his freak of a father lived."_

_ "So, you thought your nephew could be hidden in a box? And that it would be perfectly fine for you to do so, even though he is all of a child?"_

_ Petunia exploded. "It was nothing the dirty little freak didn't deserve!" she screeched, "He was forced upon us! We were doing the right thing, giving him a roof over his head and putting clothes on his back! Hell, he didn't even deserve that! He's just as freaky as his parents, no matter who his father is!"_

_ Petunia plowed on, though Ziva looked like she had just swallowed something awful and was about to strangle Petunia. "I remember when my 'dearest' sister brought each of her lovers over!" she screamed, "Her husband, James, was the biggest playboy in the history of playboys! He was always flirting with other girls, than remembering Lily when she started to get angry at the fact that the other women were getting more attention than she was. It wasn't a surprise to me when she came over to my house with another man, that McGee fellow! He wasn't anything special, compared to James; he was just an ugly troll! But Lily was just so in love! When she finally got me alone she was talking about divorcing James for him! But did she? No! She left him and then didn't bother to tell him that she had a son and left me with that little burden when she got herself killed! I should have just left the little brat in a dumpster!"_

_ Ziva clenched her fists and left the room, but not before she reached over and slapped the woman across from her. "Never talk like that about McGee or your family again." She hissed. "By the way, your ass is brass!"_

_ "Grass." Tony and Tim muttered as she came behind the glass._

_ "What?"_

_ "The term is your ass is grass Ziva." Tony said._

_ Ziva began a rant about American idioms but Tim paid no attention. Petunia was just as heartless as he remembered. She couldn't be trusted to take care of a goldfish, much less a child. But she had a point too. Tim remembered looking up James Potter when he got back to America. He had everything, the only child of two wealthy purebloods, good looking, Auror, he was the kind of wizard that every witch wanted._

_ Tim was a pureblood, but he was disowned. He had never been considered attractive, at least by his and many women's standards, and he worked for a muggle agency. There was nothing he had to offer, except his loyalty and his heart. That hadn't been good enough for Lily to leave James for him. Than how the Hell did he get lucky enough to snag her when there were so many other men to choose from that summer?_

_ "Tim, you alright?"_

_ Tony's question caught him off guard. "Uh… Yeah! I'm fine Tony!" Tim exclaimed, trying his best to give the older agent a reassuring smile. It was obvious that he didn't believe Tim's statement, but he let it slide. Ziva gave him a small glare, promising to get the information she wanted out of him. Tim gulped before Tony gripped his shoulder and led him back to the observation room that viewed Vernon Dursley. Surprisingly, Vance was there, along with a man that neither agent recognized. _

_ Vance nodded at the two agents as they took the vacant spot next to him. "Agent DiNozzo, Agent McGee, this is Agent Stuart from England. He'll be taking over the Dursley case after the interrogation, Agent Stuart, this is Special Agent DiNozzo, our Senior Field Agent, and this is Special Agent McGee, our Junior Field Agent and also the man who is being granted custody of Mr. Potter."_

_ All three men shook hands before Tony started his own interrogation on the Brit. "Why are you waiting until after our interrogation?" he asked, "I mean, we don't really have any authority now that you're here, right?"_

_ Agent Stuart gave a brief smile. "You're boss' reputation is very well known," he said, "and I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to watch the bloody genius rip this bloke a new one."_

_ Tim smiled at that. His boss did have a reputation for his methods of interrogation. _

_ Everyone froze as Gibbs entered the interrogation room. Vernon Dursley stared at him for a few moments before throwing on his signature grin. "About time someone showed up!" he yelled. "Damn Americans brining in honest men from different countries to be tried for imaginary crimes that they didn't commit! I demand that you release my wife and me immediately!"_

_ "I need to ask you a few questions first." Gibbs said. It was obvious to all the men in the observation room that Gibbs was masking his anger for the male across from him, but Vernon remained blissfully unaware._

_ "I don't have to answer any of your questions!" Vernon said, "You have no reason to keep me here."_

_ "No reason, huh?" Gibbs' voice got deadly quiet. "I can actually name a couple. The main one being that you abandoned a child on my agent's doorstep."_

_ Vernon glared at Gibbs. "The same kid just happened to be covered in bruises and has multiple broken bones." Gibbs continued, "Seems to me that we've got plenty of reason to bring you in."_

_ "You have no proof that I did it." The other man said, smirking, "You still can't hold me here."_

_ Gibbs smirked and McGee knew that he had the man. His wife had already fessed up, Dursley was trapped. "When we brought you in we didn't have much proof to go off of." Gibbs admitted, "The kid didn't want to talk and all we knew was that your wife was his legal guardian. We've already questioned your wife and she fessed up pretty quick when she learned that she might be taking the fall by herself. Admitted that you packed him up in a box and took a private plane so you wouldn't get caught. But you made two mistakes. One, you didn't leave the country as soon as you abandoned the kid. Two, that same kid you abandoned is now the son of one of my agents and my agents are practically my family, which makes him my family. You don't mess with my family and get away with it."_

_ Just like his wife, Dursley exploded once the facts were laid out in front of him. "Why do you even care!" he screamed, "The boy is just a dirty little freak who should have been killed! He deserved nothing better than what we gave him! We should have just left him on the streets of London where the rats would have eaten him alive! If we weren't in such a bloody rush to get rid of him, I would've keep him for a few more years and sold him! He would have made someone a fine pet! I know your agent is behind that glass! You hear me freak! You're son would've made a wonderful sex slave!"_

_ The bumbling oaf didn't get to say another word as Gibbs' temper snapped and his fist connected with the British man's jaw. All four of the men in the observation room flinched, knowing that the man had to be in a world of hurt by now. "I'm going to pass that off as defensive maneuvers, are you?" Agent Stuart said._

_ Vance just nodded his head and left, Agent Stuart not too far behind. Tony went to say something to his Probie, but he was already gone. He could hear retching from down the hall._

_END FLASHBACK_

Tim sighed as he walked into Abby's lab. He was going to bring Harry home today and he wanted to know the results of the D.N.A. test. They had been done for a few days now, but he had wanted to wait until Harry came home to know. He blamed it on nerves; the truth was he didn't want to leave him any time to back out if Harry turned out to be James' biological son.

Everyone was waiting in the lab. Abby was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement, Gibbs half-heartedly trying to calm her down. Ducky and Jimmy were in one corner, discussing Harry's medical issues and what they could do to help. Ziva and Tony were leaning on the counter, giving Tim hopeful smiles as he came in. Tim relaxed slightly when he saw the whole team; they were probably going to be the only family he and Harry had beside Vince. To have their support meant a lot to him, more than it probably should have.

"Timmy!" Abby shouted. "Are you ready Tim? This could change your entire life!"

"My entire life has already changed Abby." Tim said.

She smiled and bounced over to Gibbs. "Is everyone ready?"

"Just tell us the results Abby!" Tony said.

Silence overtook the room as Abby finally printed off the results. She took one look at them, grinned, and turned to Tim. "Congratulations Tim!" she said, "It's a boy!"

Tim froze. Harry was his, really his? He had been preparing himself to hear the opposite, now the news hit him like a train. Looking over at Tony and Ziva, he realized that they, and everyone in the room, were grinning at him like idiots. That's when he realized that he was doing a wonderful impression of a fish. Gulping, he turned his attention back to Abby. "Mine?" he choked out, "Harry's really mine?"

"Of course he is!" Abby said, shoving the results into Tim's hands, "Says it right there McGee!"

Holding the test results and seeing that Harry was his, that's what made it real for Tim. He had a son. Harry was the result of a few months of bliss with a woman who had stolen his heart. Tim briefly wondered if James had known that Harry wasn't his. Shaking his head, he hoped that James, if he had known, had still loved Harry like his own. Looking at his boss, he gave a shaky smile. "What's going to happen now?" he asked.

"You're going to pick up your son and we'll meet you at your house." Gibbs said, surprising Tim. His boss could read the surprise all over his face and chuckled. "I meant what I said back there Tim." Gibbs continued, "My agents are my family. That makes you and Harry family. We're here for you, always."

That brought a smile to Tim's face. He nodded and turned to leave. "I guess I'll see you in a few hours?" he said.

Everyone nodded and Tim left without another word. He had to get his son.

Hospitals are most definitely not fun. Tim knew this from experience and he was surprised at how well Harry was taking it. The boy hadn't cried once and the nurses continued to rave to him about how brave the young boy was. He knew Harry was brave; you didn't come through an ordeal like Harry did and not be brave. It just was a little shocking to see him act like it here. From what he had gathered from Harry, his last visit to the doctor hadn't been very good.

Tim had just finished the paperwork when he saw a nurse, Jasmine was written on her nametag, wheeling his son out of his room and too him. He gave her a smile and ruffled the little boy's hair. "Hey there little guy," he said, "are you ready to go home?"

Harry grinned at him and nodded. Getting the approval from the nurses Tim wheeled the little boy out and to the car. "We're going to see the rest of the family to when we get home, alright buddy?"

"Family?"

"Yeah," Tim said, "we've got lots of family. There's your Uncles Tony and Jimmy and your Aunts Ziva and Abby and your Grandpas Ducky and Gibbs. You met your Grandpa Ducky and Grandpa Gibbs already, remember?"

Harry thought about it for a moment, before nodding his head. "We go home now Daddy?"

Tim's heart soared when he heard the word daddy. "Yeah buddy, let's go home."


	6. Family

**Author's Note:**

**Do any of you actually read this? If you do, please continue to do so. If not, please start reading them. These notes actually explain things I have been asked about in reviews.**

**Well, to start off, I'm glad people are happy that Harry is Tim's biological son! I tossed around the idea of Harry not being his, but I decided this would be better. It's going to be so cute!**

**bunch1, thanks for pointing out multiple thing that I missed. Yes, I will include Penny and possibly Sarah, but I'm going to wait a minute for that one. As for the problem with the seasons and you mentioned that Tim would have been on the team for nearly ten years now. Please refer back to the Author's Note back in Chapter One. I haven't had the opportunity to watch all the seasons and I'm going off of the ten or twenty so episodes I have seen. Most of them were post-Kate and I didn't get to watch the complete episode that I managed to find with Kate as my power went out. I'm going to say that Tim joined Norfolk when he was twenty, was transferred to Gibbs' team when he was twenty three/twenty four, and is now twenty seven, maybe twenty eight. Also, Gibbs, along with the rest of the team, is going to be a little OOC here. Of course, I'll be sure to make sure Gibbs is still a little of a hard-ass and Tony will continue to pester Tim. That will never change, but they're going to be a little soft because of little Harry.**

** Speaking of Tony, can anyone give me a few movie references? My movie knowledge doesn't go very far out of Disney and DreamWorks. And maybe, just maybe, a few Ziva idioms? Thank you!**

**Chapter Six: Family**

The little yellow house was alive with voices and aromas when Tim and Harry made it home. From the front window he could see Gibbs and Ducky, who were sitting on the new couch, as the old one eventually turned back into the broken lamp that it once was. In between them was Jethro, who perked up the moment he heard the car pull into the driveway. Tim chuckled as the dog stared at him through the window. It seemed his German Shepard was being more observant than his namesake today.

Harry watched Tim with wide eyes. It sounded a lot louder than it had the day he had been here last and he didn't know what he was supposed to do. Was he supposed to go into a cupboard until all of his daddy's friends left? Auntie and Uncle never wanted their guests to see him, something about him being a disgrace to their family. But Daddy had said that these people were their family, so maybe he didn't have to hide this time. He had already met his Grandpa Gibbs and Grandpa Ducky and they both seemed nice. But would Aunt Abby and Aunt Ziva call him a freak like his Auntie did? Or would his Uncle Jimmy and Uncle Tony break his wrist like his Uncle had? What was he supposed to do?

Tim lifted Harry into his arms and held the now shivering boy close. He had a feeling that Harry would react like this when he introduced him to the team. Maybe he should have waited a few more days. No, Abby wouldn't allow him to do that. Besides, the longer Tim kept him away from the team, the harder it was going to be to have him trust them. Harry was going to be loved here; he had to make him understand that!

Walking through the front door, he spotted Tony and Jimmy in a corner of the living room that couldn't be seen from the window. They were obviously lost in conversation, probably about a movie. Abby and Ziva were in the kitchen making something that smelled delicious, causing his stomach to growl. Harry buried his head deeper into Tim's neck when the sound gathered the attention of everyone in the house. Jethro the dog quickly jumped off the couch and bounded over to his master. Tim smiled and patted the dog's head with his free hand. "Hey there Jet." Tim said.

Harry looked at the large German Shepard in front of him and his daddy. "Harry, this is Jethro." his daddy said, "He's my dog. He won't hurt you, I promise."

He stared at his daddy like he had grown a second head. Didn't he know how dangerous dogs were? His Auntie Marge had always sent her dog, Ripper, to hurt him and chase him up trees. Suddenly there was something wet on his hand. He looked down and Jethro was licking his hand! Ripper had never licked Harry's hand. Did that mean that Jet was nice?

Harry hesitantly reached out to pet Jet. The dog rubbed his head against his hand. Harry smiled and began to scratch Jet behind the ear. The dog's hind leg began to thump up and down and Harry giggled, causing his father to smile. He knew that things were going to be just fine between the dog and his little boy.

Tim put Harry on the ground so he could continue to play with Jethro. He straightened back out when Gibbs came forward, the other men in the house following. "Looks like he likes the dog." Gibbs said.

Tim smiled at the interactions between boy and dog, the little boy now hugging the dog lightly around his neck. Jet didn't seem to mind though. "I was a little worried he wouldn't for a while there." Tim said.

"He looks just like you McDaddy!" Tony exclaimed, catching the little boy's attention.

"His name is McGee, not McDaddy." Harry whispered, hoping no one would hear him.

All the men did hear him though. "Right you are Harry." Ducky said, "Your father's name is McGee, not McDaddy. But Anthony here loves to give your father nicknames and he uses them quite often."

They watched as Harry scrunched up his nose. Tim knew from watching him for the past few weeks that it meant that his son was thinking. Then he looked Tony straight in the face and said, "Don't be mean to my daddy or you might turn into a bird."

Tim, Ducky, and Gibbs burst into laughter, remembering the incident with the book the night Harry was abandoned on Tim's front porch. Tony was left clueless. He didn't doubt that Tim could turn him into a bird, he had most definitely proven his magical prowess, but he didn't understand why it was so funny to his boss and his co-workers. Jimmy stared at his boss, Tim, and Agent Gibbs. He had only been aware of the existence of magic for a week and there was still so much he didn't understand or know. He knew both Tony and Tim were wizards, the coincidence of the two being on the same team making him laugh as he learned that they were the only ones in the building. He also knew Doctor Mallard was related to a wizard, Abby was born to magic but didn't have it herself, and Gibbs and Ziva knew from either accident or way of life. He was shocked to hear that they could change each other into animals.

Soon enough the three men got themselves under control and Tim explained what happened the night he got Harry. Tony and Jimmy quickly started laughing themselves. Tony explained to Harry that, no, he wasn't being mean to Tim and he most definitely would not turn him into a bird. Harry smiled at that, he already like his Uncle Tony a lot more than his old Uncle.

The girls came out a few moments later with dinner. Once everything was placed at the table, they joined the little group. Abby immediately began to fawn over the little boy, causing him to blush and hide his face into Jethro's fur. Ziva laughed at this. "He acts just like you when you get flustered McGee." She said.

"No he doesn't."

"Yes he does."

"No. He. Doesn't."

"Yes. He. Does."

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"She's right Tim!" Abby said, "You're blushing almost as much as Harry is!"

Abby was right. Tim's face was now a bright scarlet, almost the same shade as Harry's was. Everyone but Tim laughed, including Harry. His daddy's friends were nice and funny and he never wanted to go back to his Auntie and Uncle, but he knew better. They'd come back for him sooner or later and then he'd be in trouble. His daddy had him break a lot of the rules back home and his rules were completely different.

Tim lifted Harry up from the ground and walked over to the table. "You hungry buddy?" he asked.

Harry nodded and Tim sat him in a chair. Tim chuckled as Harry struggled to get his head above the top of the table and retrieved some books for him to sit on. "These will have to do until I get you a booster seat, okay buddy?"

Harry nodded and smiled as he could finally see everything on the table. Everyone gave sad smiles as Harry's eyes roamed the table and eyed the food like it was gold. He looked at Tim with wide eyes. "I get to eat normal food?" he asked, unintentionally causing his father's heart to break. He wished that he had killed the elder Dursleys more than ever now.

"Of course you do buddy." Tim said, reaching over to ruffle his hair. Harry smiled and playfully tried to knock his father's hand away. He had seen another boy to it to his father while he had been at the hospital and had been doing this to his father for a week. Tim couldn't blame him, he had done the same thing do his father before they had fallen out. Plus he knew that he was just being a copy-cat.

Dinner was a very loud affair. Everyone was talking and laughing and Harry had never felt more at home than he did at that table. His Uncle Tony had thrown a dinner roll at his daddy, who had dodged it and the roll had ended up hitting his Grandpa Gibbs. Everyone had gotten real quiet after that, than he reached across the table and slapped his Uncle Tony on the back of the head.

Tim watched Harry's reaction to Gibbs' action. The boy's eyes had widened significantly and he had quickly scooted away from Gibbs. Tim could see Harry shaking and he quickly reached over to hold him close. Everyone was now starring at the father and son duo, Gibbs looking guilty as it dawned on him what had happened.

Harry was openly sobbing now, begging Tim to not let Gibbs hit and promising that he would be good and that he'd do anything if he wouldn't send him back. He spared a look at Ducky, hoping that the older man would have an idea as in what he was supposed to be doing. Ducky looked to be just as lost as Tim was, though he was nodding feverishly as Tim held Harry closer. He figured Harry would need the contact.

Seeing Harry tremble and sob reminded Tim of himself when he was small. He often had nightmares about his father hurting him and would wake up in hysterics. When he was still a toddler his mother would sneak into his room and hold him like he was holding Harry and whisper things that made no sense, but it had calmed him none the less. After he turned eight his mother had stopped coming and was replaced by Penny whenever she came over. She would do the same thing as his mother, but would run her fingers through his hair. She had always made him feel safe and secure, maybe Harry needed it too.

Soon he was whispering nothings into Harry's ear, promising that no one was going to hurt him and that he loved him. He ran his fingers through his son's hair and the trembling started to slow and the sobbing quieted. Tim smiled and kissed Harry's forehead before noticing the little tyke had fallen asleep.

Tim rose from his seat, adjusting the little boy in his arms. He gave a pointed glare at the team, daring them to make a single comment about what had just happened. When he heard nothing he trudged up the stairs, Jet following him.

Holding back chuckles, Tim watched as Harry curled into a ball and started to suck on his thumb the moment he was under the covers. Jet jumped onto the bed and curled up at the end of his feet like some sort of furry guardian angel. Tim just didn't have the heart to tell the dog to get down, so he just rubbed his head and left the room, leaving the door cracked.

The team burst into chatter the moment Tim came back downstairs. Tim let out a shrill whistle, quieting the team and, hopefully, not waking the little tot upstairs. "He's just sleeping guys." Tim said, "But there's a new rule in this house. No physical violence in front of the kid. Understand?"

Everyone nodded slowly. Then Tim did something that no one, not even he, expected. He walked up to Gibbs and head slapped him. "You ever scare my son like that again and I won't hesitate to make your life a living hell." Tim growled.

Gibbs nodded. Then he smiled and said, "Good work with the kid Tim."

"Thanks boss."


	7. McGee Mornings

**Chapter Seven: McGee Mornings**

A week had pasted since the team had met little Harry Potter, now McGee, and Harry seemed to be adjusting. The first few days with his newly discovered father had been hectic, as Tim would find Harry doing the most ridiculous chores at all different times of the day, some scaring him to the point where, once he had Harry safe and secure, he would have to place his head between his knees and wait for his panic attack to pass. The most recent scare had been when Harry had climbed out the second floor window to clean the glass because the window wouldn't unhinge and swing inside. Tim made sure to have all the windows locked and child-proofed with muggle products and spells after that.

Sometimes Harry would be doing things that made Tim want to hide in a corner and cry for hours. The morning after the Gibbs' slap Harry had an extreme bout of accidental magic. When the tot woke up and realized that he was in a bed, he had freaked out and Apparated into the closet across the hall. Jet had then woke up and realized that the young boy was missing and proceeded to harass Tim until he woke up and found the boy. It had taken him nearly an hour to coax him out of the closet and another to calm him down enough to where he could get an explanation out of the tot. Tim had never been so glad that he had the day off before.

Actually he had that entire week off. Vance had wanted him to get adjusted to his new role as a father and get settled down in the house before he came back to work. He had offered to give him more, but that was to be used to find a baby-sitter and Tim didn't feel comfortable enough yet to leave Harry with a stranger yet. He still believed that Tim was going to abandon him when he was left alone for certain amounts of time and being gone all day and being home only when Harry was sleeping wouldn't help dissipate his son's fears.

Today would be his first day back at NCIS and Harry was going with him. He would stay with Tim at his desk and go outside with whoever was getting lunch that day. Tim knew it wasn't going to be easy, Harry still flinched whenever Gibbs raised his hand, but he hadn't a doubt in his mind that they could handle this. Well, Harry and he could handle it, he wasn't exactly sure how the team would adapt, but it shouldn't be too hard. At least Abby and Ducky volunteered to watch the tyke while they were out on the field; at least Ducky would when there wasn't a dead body to be dealt with.

Sighing, Tim finally managed to convince himself to get out of bed. Even though he had a game plan for what Harry would be doing for the day, he didn't want to execute it. But he didn't have much of a choice, he needed to go back to work and Harry needed to see more than the house and the park. It wouldn't do any good to hide Harry away from the world; it would leave him more scarred in the future.

Tim checked in on Harry, making sure the little tyke was still asleep before getting in the shower. Afterwards he dried off and got dressed. Going to Harry's room, he saw that he was wide awake now, whispering to his best friend Jethro the dog. Tim smiled at the duo. These little 'conversations' were nothing new; he often found boy and dog like this around the house. Harry would be pouring his secrets out to his new best friend and Jet would listen as well as he could. Occasionally, after Harry would end these talks, he would come up to Tim and tell him what he and the dog talked about today. Twice it was about a nightmare that Tim reassured him wasn't real, though the second one was scarily close to how the boy's mother died. Once they had talked about the rules and punishments that Harry wanted to know. They had established that if Harry deliberately put himself in danger he would be spanked. The only other time that punishment would be dealt was if Harry lied to him. Honesty ranked high on Tim's ladder and to be a liar was one of the worst things a person could be, right next to child-abusers and thieves, but still better than a rapist or a murderer. It was probably one of the reasons he felt he wasn't a part of the team, they lied and Tim didn't. All other rules could be punishable with a time-out or being grounded.

The only other talk they had was about Lily. Tim had been honest with Harry, though he didn't tell him the full extent of things. He didn't need to know what exactly happened to his mother and step-father and he didn't need to know about how he and Lily met, those were conversations best left for when Harry was a teenager or an adult.

Harry didn't notice his father staring at him from the doorway for a few more minutes. When he finally did, he jumped up and ran to Tim, wrapping his tiny arms around his father's legs. "Morning Daddy!" Harry chirped.

"Good morning Harry," Tim said, "you sleep well last night?"

"Yeah!" Harry said.

Tim ruffled the tyke's hair before lifting him up and onto his shoulders. Harry giggled at the action and leaned over to kiss his daddy's forehead. "I love you daddy."

Tim's heart soared when he heard those four simple words. When Harry first said it on the third day of his arrival, the little boy had flinched and was expecting a beating for what he had said. Tim had pulled the boy close, held him in his lap, and said that he loved him too. Harry had smiled so wide he thought that the boy's face was going to fall apart.

"I love you too baby boy." Tim said, lifting the boy off his shoulders and putting him on the bed so he could find an outfit for the tyke. It was decided, after ten minutes of searching, that Harry was going to wear his Winnie-the-Pooh shirt and a pair of blue jeans with Tigger socks. The moment the little boy had discovered the yellow bear and his friends he had been lost in their world, declaring to his father one night over dinner that Pooh was the coolest bear he had ever seen and that he wished that he had his own. At least that gave Tim and the team an idea as to what to get the tyke for Christmas. The holiday was only a week away and Tim had struggled to get through the shopping last week.

He knew Abby already had a gift picked out, along with Ducky and Ziva. Jimmy had asked Tim to go shopping with him after work today, so he was going to let Abby watch Harry until he returned. Tony was probably going to wait until the last minute and Gibbs… He wasn't sure if Gibbs would do anything. Harry was still nervous around him and that made Tim fairly worried. He didn't want Harry to live in fear everyday like he had at the Dursleys and, if it came down to it, he would leave Gibbs' team if it meant that Harry would be better off. Harry came first now-a-days and Tim refused to do anything that might jeopardize his fragile relationship with the tiny tot.

Once Harry was dressed and Tim had tamed the tot's hair the best that he could, he took him downstairs to get a quick breakfast going. He quickly put two pieces of toast in the toaster for himself and put the coffee on. After that he got Harry a sippy cup of milk, a sliced up banana, and a piece of bread with peanut butter on it. It was the only thing that he could get Harry to eat most mornings, though the tyke loved pancakes. Tim was glad that it made Harry happy; it was just a hassle to clean up.

By the time breakfast was over Tim had burnt his toast, slipped on a small puddle of coffee, and had to get mashed banana out of his son's hair. Then he had trouble getting on his son's outerwear and throwing on his own. Harry's snow pants strap had snapped and need to be mended with a Sewing Charm and then Tim's zipper on his coat refused to work.

The problems hadn't stopped there. Tim couldn't find his badge or his gun anywhere and Harry couldn't find his stuffed cat, Stuffy. All three objects were found under Jet's pet bed and the dog had at least looked ashamed, but Tim knew it was part of his 'I'm cute and fluffy and you can't stay mad at me long' look. After they got out to the car Harry's car-seat wouldn't buckle correctly and the car refused to start for nearly ten minutes.

It was one of the few times that he was glad that he had woken up early. It gave him time to handle his hectic life and not be late for work, thus avoiding that Gibbs' slap that he would most surely get once his son was out of the room. That would hurt and Tim very much preferred to not have a headache when he was trying to solve a murder.

He gave a sigh of relief when they pulled into the NCIS parking lot without any problems. The last thing he needed was to be involved in an accident while his son was in the car.

Speaking of his son, Tim turned around to check on him since he hadn't spoken a word since they got into the car. He smiled at the sight before him. Little Harry had fallen asleep in his car seat, Stuffy clutched tightly against his chest. He chuckled before getting out of the car and retrieving the tyke from the back seat.

This day was turning into an interesting one. And it was even seven yet!


	8. First Day

**Author's Note:**

**Hi! For starters, sorry I haven't updated in so long! A few months ago I was diagnosed with depression and it gets real hard for me to motivate myself to get out of bed in the morning and to try and write chapters on top of that… Well, it's not easy. Literally, last week I tried to continue this and the moment I started typing, it was like all the energy I had just drained out of me.**

**On a more positive note, I'm glad all of you like Chapter Seven and I'm sorry about the overuse of tyke and tot. I wrote a good portion of that chapter while I was half-asleep or distracted and I didn't actually watch how often I used a word. I can't promise it won't happen again, but I'll try my best! As for the gun safety issue, it was out of Harry's reach. This is actually something my dog does, so I got the idea from her. Tim had left his gun and his badge on a shelf out of Harry's reach. Jethro, being the intelligent animal he is, climbed on the couch and onto the arm before standing on his hind legs to grab both items. My dog climbs onto the couch, onto the kitchen table, and takes whatever she pleases. Tim will move his gun to a more secure place now where neither dog nor toddler will be able to reach it.**

**I recognize that some people wanted this story to have Tim leave the team and not be a part of a family dynamic with the NCIS team. But, that was my entire plan when I started. If anyone wants to do a version of this where that happens, I don't care if you do it. Just don't expect me to do it; it's just not my cup of tea. Oh! Before I forget, for people who write NCIS fics, I put up a few challenges at the end of my profile. There are some Harry Potter ones too, just something to do if you get bored. Well, I hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave a little review!**

**Chapter Eight: First Day**

Tim wasn't even slightly surprised when he got to the bullpen and saw that his desk was covered with streamers and had a sign that said 'WELCOME BACK TIM!' in large, blue letters. Abby was there, waiting to give him one of her hugs, but came to a screeching halt when she saw Harry in his arms, still fast asleep. Tim raised his finger to his mouth and Abby nodded, giving him a small hug instead. "It's nice to have you back McGee." Abby whispered.

"It's good to be back." Tim whispered back, taking notice that none of the others were at the bullpen yet. He raised an eyebrow in question and Abby shrugged. Nodding, he went to sit at his desk, swiping a few streamers off his keyboard settling Harry against his chest. The little boy didn't budge, staying lost in his little world of dreams while his father got into the world of death and revenge.

Gibbs and the rest of the team arrived a quarter after seven, all chatting about a case they had received yesterday. Ziva noticed the pair first, smiling as she approached the two. "How long has the little one been asleep?" she asked.

"Maybe a half an hour at most." Tim replied, gently stroking the tot's hair.

Ziva nodded before going to her desk, most likely to start the research on the latest victim. Tim knew that they had gotten a call close to the time when Gibbs was going to dismiss them and they had taken care of the crime scene, but had waited to do identifying and background research until today. Somewhat disappointed that he had missed out at processing the crime scene, but glad that he was going to be able to help somewhat. Tim had missed working with the team, though taking care of little Harry had kept him from dwelling on it.

Soon enough he was running background checks on the victim and listening to the normal banter of the bullpen. Tim glanced down to make sure that Harry was still sleeping and noticed two bright green eyes staring back at him. Harry gave him a toothy grin, which Tim returned. Grabbing the duffel bag that held Harry's things, he pulled out a small teddy bear which Tim had made himself. It was supposed to be Pooh Bear, but the bear had dark brown fur that had small patches of yellow, a red and green checkered shirt and mismatched button eyes. The bear was ugly and poorly made, but Harry had loved it none the less. Wherever the boy went, the bear was sure to follow.

Harry quickly dropped Stuffy in favor of the bear, affectionately called Scraps. He clutched the toy close before reaching up to give his father a quick peck on the cheek. Tim smiled before planting a small kiss on his son's head before putting him on the floor to play.

Soon enough the bullpen was interrupted by the happy squeals and giggles of a three-year-old at play. Harry wasn't as loud as must child his age would be which was probably why no one was really paying the tyke much attention. Occasionally the team flinched when Harry's squeals got a little too high-pitched, but that was the only movement beside the occasional glance over Tim's shoulder to see what his boy was doing.

Everyone started when Gibbs violently hung up with phone. "Do we have anything on our dead Marine?" he asked, glancing around the bullpen.

McGee started first. "Our victim is Petty Officer Louis Travis." Tim said, "Twenty-six-years old, married, has two children, got an honorable discharge after taking a bullet to the shoulder while in the Navy three months ago."

"His record shows no history of violence or bad blood between Travis and his fellow officers." Ziva said, "He is as clean as the wind."

"Whistle." Tony said.

"What?"

"It's as clean as a whistle, Ziva."

The Israeli was confused at this. "How can a whistle be clean?" she asked, "They are filled with the spit of the whistler. They cannot be clean!"

"It's just how it is Ziva." Tony said.

"Are we done yet?" Gibbs asked. Both agents acted shamefaced. "Now, Tony, get ahold of his CO. Tim, look at his bank statements, phone history, and the like. Ziva, you're coming with me."

Ziva shot a grin at Tony, who was obviously disgruntled that he was being left behind while Ziva got to go out in the field. Tim just shook his head and looked down at Harry to see how he was doing. The toddler was contently playing with his bear, but had somehow gotten a hold on Tim's stapler. Tim gently took the stapler from Harry's grip and ruffled the boy's hair. "Staplers aren't toys Harry," he said, "Your Uncle Tony knows that first hand."

Tony shot Tim a dirty look. A few months ago, Tony had thought it would be a good idea to use the stapler as a gun and had been randomly shooting staples at his co-workers while Gibbs was down at Abby's lab. Both Ziva and Tim had quickly tired of their co-worker's antics and had been planning their revenge when a painful yelp distracted them from their current plan to throw Tony off a bridge.

What they saw made them laugh so hard that they had fallen from their seats. Tony had been aiming for a new field agent who had joined an MCRT team earlier in the month when she decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. As he was going to push down on the stapler, she had reached over, grabbed his hand, and forced Tony to shoot himself in the face. The end result was a staple that had formed a very strange nose ring.

Harry gave the stapler a wary glance before picking up his bear and walking over to his Uncle Tony's desk. Tim smiled as the little boy plopped down and resumed his play. At least Harry felt comfortable to be with his Uncle Tony. The man had taken to coming over every day with a different children's movie and a plain cheese pizza for Harry and a supreme for themselves. Yesterday Tony had brought _'Monsters Inc.' _and Harry had quickly fallen in love with it, his favorite monster being Sully because he was big and strong like his daddy and his Uncle Tony.

Three hours passed in silence before Gibbs and Ziva returned. Tony had quickly gotten a hold of Travis' commanding officer and got all the information out of him before alternating between looking into potential suspects and playing with Harry. Tim had watched out of the corner of his eye, occasionally joining their play while he waited for multiple searches to be carried out by the computer. When Gibbs and Ziva did return, Tony had rushed back to his desk to act like he was being productive while Tim helped Harry put the final touches on a picture he was making.

"Play time's over McGee." Gibbs said, bypassing the father/son duo to go to his desk.

"Yes Boss." Tim said, lifting himself from his position on the floor and returning to his seat. Harry watched his father walk away before returning his attention to his picture and then turning his attention to his Grandpa Gibbs. The older man still scared him, his slap had reminded him too much of the beatings he used to get from his uncle. But the man had been nice to him ever since and he looked sad when Harry flinched from his touch. Maybe he could give him one last chance…

His mind made up, Harry stood and toddled over to his grandfather, his father's eyes never leaving him. Picture clutched tight in his hand, Harry tugged on Gibbs' coat. The older man paused, as he had been about to ask the team for an update, and stared at the child.

Harry felt the fear of punishment rise up, but remembered that his daddy promised that no one would hit him anymore. If his grandpa tried to hit him, his daddy would keep him safe. He gave Gibbs a shaky smile before holding out the picture for him. "It's for you!" he said.

Gibbs smiled at him before gently taking the picture. The image made him smile. It was quite obvious that the picture was of his newfound family. From the left was a stick figure that he assumed was McGee, next to him was Harry, who was holding his and Tony's hands. Next to Tony were two stick figures in dresses that were Ziva and Abby, and finally there was Ducky, Jimmy, and himself. The picture version of him was frowning, which made Gibbs realize that he very rarely smiled. He had tried to smile more when the kid was around, but it obviously wasn't enough.

Bending down, Gibbs gave Harry a hug. "It's very nice Harry." Gibbs said, "I'll hang it up tomorrow when I have a tack, alright?"

Harry gave a wide grin before running back to his father. Tim smiled at the little tyke, who had started to babble, but was quickly stopped by Tim. "What did you get DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, switching into his 'no-bullshit mode'.

"Commanding officer had nothing bad to say." Tony said. "Apparently this guy got along with everyone. Never broke a single rule. Followed all his orders."

Gibbs gave a nod before switching his attention to McGee. Tim nodded before giving his own report. "Phone records show that he made a phone call from his cell phone around an hour before his death." Tim said, "His bank records also show that he made a withdraw ten minutes after the phone call, but we found no money on him. I'm tracing the phone now."

Gibbs nodded and sat down at his desk before his phone rang. He snatched it off its receiver and answered, "Gibbs."

There was a moment of silence as the three field agents watched their boss. "I'll be right down Abby." Gibbs said, putting his phone back onto the receiver. As he walked away, Tim saw him slip the picture Harry had drawn into his pocket. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to show it off to Abby, who would probably get jealous of the fact that Harry had given Gibbs a picture and not her. He'd have to convince Harry to draw another for his Aunt Abby.

The day went by fairly quickly after that. By the end of the day they had Travis' step-father in NCIS custody, as he had bribed his step-son into handing him a large amount of money in order for him not to leave his mother. When the deal went south, the man had shot the petty officer, killing him and running off with the money. He had sung like a canary once Gibbs got his hand on him.

Then Tim had left Harry with Abby while he went to help Jimmy help pick out a gift. They had searched the local for nearly an hour before Jimmy had found a large Pooh Bear blanket and a Piglet stuffed animal for the boy. Tim had never been more relieved when they had finally got into the car. He had no idea how Harry was acting with Abby but, since he hadn't received a distress call from the forensic scientist yet, he assumed all was well.

Tim couldn't help but let a small grin overtake his face when he finally got back to NCIS and went down to Abby's lab. On the couch lie Abby with little Harry on her stomach, thumb in his mouth and clutching Scraps closely to his chest. To see Harry so relaxed with a person beside himself made him feel like he was a good parent, that he was helping Harry realize that not everyone was going to hurt him.

Ten minutes later, Abby was wide awake and handing Tim Harry's bag, the tyke wrapped around his side. He wished her a good night before heading out to his car. He smiled as he turned on the engine. Today hadn't been that bad. He could actually get used to this.


	9. Mistakes and Regrets

**Chapter Nine: Mistakes and Regrets**

"Why, dammit, WHY!"

The outburst was followed quickly by a lamp shattering against the wall. In the middle of the room stood Leroy Jethro Gibbs, his hands oozing blood from where he had punched a wall and his face glittering with sweat and tears. The crime scene recovery was supposed to be quick and simple, his team was supposed to be in and out. They were only there to take photos and bag and tag. This wasn't supposed to happen!

The doctors at Bethesda said that he would recover and that Gibbs should take it easy for a few days, but that wasn't likely to happen. One of his own had been seriously injured, almost died on en route to the hospital, and they expected to him to take it easy? Maybe in the vaguest term of the word if he had been on good terms with his teammate when it happened, but they had been fighting practically since New Year's and it was damn near the end of June. The scene just kept playing out in his mind over and over again, never letting the former Marine drift off to sleep without some form of nightmare…

_Flashback:_

_ The day had actually been bright and cheery, despite the tension amongst the MCRT under Gibbs' command. It was nearing the weekend, but they had one more crime scene to process. Gibbs shot a glare at his youngest agent, who sent him a rebellious stare in return. McGee had come in late with DiNozzo this morning and, while he did Gibbs slap Tony, Tim took the brunt of his anger. Maybe it was because the man had been late nearly every day this week, though the older agent couldn't blame him. The boy's son was just beginning to recover from a bout with the stomach flu and McGee was looking too well today either. But Gibbs knew, deep in his heart, it was jealousy that had him fighting with the younger man._

_ Every time he looked at Tim and Harry, all he could think about was Kelly and him. He was kept wide awake at nights, wondering what McGee had done to have his son survive, while his daughter had been killed. Jealousy would overtake him every time he saw Tim and Harry together and he had come to avoid them at all costs. Harry hadn't noticed the disappearance, as the man rarely came to visit before he made the decision to avoid them like the plague, but Tim did. Every day the young man came into work Gibbs caught him burning holes into him, not even trying to deny the fact when Gibbs returned the fierce glare_

_ This went on for about a week then, on the third day of the New Year, Tim confronted him. Gibbs had been tempted to drop the act of solitude, especially when Tim admitted that Harry had had a nightmare about Gibbs disappearing forever, but the pain in his heart hadn't disappeared. Tim still had his son and Gibbs still didn't have his daughter. So he had screamed at the younger man, telling him in no uncertain terms that he didn't care, though part of him did. He didn't want to lose the two of them like he had lost Shannon and Kelly, but he was still grieving after all these years. He wasn't ready to love again. At least, that's what he told himself._

_ The next six months had passed in a whirlwind of emotions and solitude. Every day he got into some argument with his junior field agent, whether it about a case or about Harry it didn't matter. Then he'd spend the rest of the day sulking, snapping at everyone on his team. Once he dismissed them for the day, he would head home and work on his boat. This relaxed him before Harry came and his relationship with McGee went downhill, but now it gave him too much time to think. All that was on his mind were two green-eyed males, one looking at him with sad eyes, begging him to come home, the other looking at him with disgust, but he could see the pain that lurked behind them. He had looked up to Gibbs like the man was his father and he had just abandoned him. Just like his birth father._

_ The day that had quickly spun out of control had been no different. He had argued with McGee, then snapped on Tony and Ziva, who had stopped talking and visiting him two months prior. He couldn't blame them, Tim never yelled at them, always giving them the option to stay out his private affairs, but they refused to leave. They were Tim's anchor, along with Abby, Ducky, Jimmy, and Vince. Gibbs had taken to talking to Director Vance, who had spent a good portion of the morning drilling sense back into the older man's head. Gibbs hadn't paid attention until the younger man had threatened to pull everyone off his team and replace them with people he wouldn't fight with. That was when Gibbs made up his mind. That was when Gibbs realized that he was wrong and needed to apologize to his agent. No, more than apologize, he needed to gain the man's trust back. He needed to get his family back._

_ That was probably why he was the first person to notice that McGee had gone missing at the crime scene. Gibbs had sent the man to check a dumpster out back for a murder weapon, which shouldn't have taken more than ten minutes since the dumpster had been emptied the day before yesterday. When a half-an-hour went by with no word for the computer-savvy agent, Gibbs had gone out back to investigate. Then his heart had practically stopped._

_ About ten feet from the door was Tim. He was on the ground, backed up against the brick wall, a pistol pointed at his head. The man who was holding the pistol was partially obstructed from Gibbs' view, but he did see a tuff of dull blonde hair and one dark brown eye, combined with a smile that would have sent the devil running back to Hell with his tail tucked in between his legs. Almost automatically Gibbs pulled out his gun, shouting "NCIS! Drop your weapon!"_

_ Moments later Tony came running, while the unknown man pulled McGee up and proceeded to use him as a human shield. Gibbs growled at the gunman, knowing that one wrong move could not only make him short one agent, but make a little boy an orphan. He could only imagine what would have happened if this had been how things had played out with Shannon and Kelly. "Drop the weapon and surrender." Gibbs ordered his voice cold._

_ The man with the gun laughed. It sent shivers up Gibbs' spine and it was quite obvious that it made the rest of his agents feel the same way. "Why should I?" he asked, "Wouldn't his brains look pretty on the wall? I think that they would."_

_ Gibbs met his trapped agent's eyes for a moment and saw the fear and panic. But there was something else. Was that… regret? What the hell would McGee regret? Then Gibbs remembered that, right before he was called to the Director's office, Tim had been walking out. Vance had probably told him the same things to Tim. The glares this morning had just been left over hurt from this morning's argument. Now that Gibbs thought about it, the glares hadn't actually been as strong this morning. Tim had also tried to start a civil conversation while in the van, which Gibbs had ignored._

_ The next few seconds passed by in a whirl of chaos. Gibbs raised his gun and aimed. Three gunshots rang out from three different guns and Tim had fallen to the ground with his captor. He didn't move._

_End Flashback:_

Gibbs shivered as he remembered screaming out his agent's name. His bullet had hit the man holding his agent hostage in the head. The second gunshot had come from the shooter, who had been spooked by something and had lowered his gun seconds before pulling the trigger and being hit by the first bullet. By some miracle the bullet had missed both Tim's head and neck, imbedding itself in Tim's shoulder. The third bullet had come from Ziva, who had noticed the commotion and snuck up behind her co-worker's captor. That bullet also hit the man in the head, as she had realized that any other place could risk hitting Tim too. She had pushed the dead man off his McGee and held Tim's head in her lap, crying over her friend. Tony had rushed over to them, but not before kicking the man who had shot Tim, knowing that he wouldn't feel it but making him feel better in the long run.

Soon Tim was in the hospital being rushed to the emergency room and Gibbs was getting ahold of Vincent while Tony and Ziva retrieved Harry from Abby. They arrived before the Mage-in-Chief, so Gibbs watched as the little boy cried and begged for his father. Tony and Ziva held him close, listening to the tyke's heartbreaking pleas for them to let him see his daddy and for his daddy not to go to heaven like his mommy and his step-daddy.

Vincent arrived five minutes later, immediately grilling the older man for information about his best friend. Gibbs had told him all he knew before asking the man to take Harry home so he wouldn't have to see Tim in his condition. Vincent had nodded and grabbed the tyke, but not before giving Gibbs some news about how the Dursley case was going. Apparently, both Dursleys had been convicted of child abuse and the son was now in foster care, as the boy's father had ratted out his sister as well. Vincent was still working out how Harry had been allowed to be placed there, but he did have the Potter's will. He told Gibbs that, if Tim didn't make it, he wanted Gibbs to be at the reading in his place, as Vincent wouldn't be able to attend. Gibbs had dutifully nodded before adding, "Probably not going to happen."

When Vincent asked why, Gibbs gave a sad smile and replied, "McGee doesn't have my permission to die."

Gibbs stared at his clock. 08:23. Gibbs shook off the confusion. He must have fallen asleep at some point of time. He realized that the hospital would be taking visitors by now. Grabbing his coat and his keys, he rushed out to his car. He needed to see that his agent was okay. He needed to see that the man was going to recover. He needed to let the man know that he was sorry.

The car ride to the hospital was short. Gibbs surely had broken all the speed limits on the way there. Before he knew it, he was being led to a back room by a nurse with shockingly bright green hair. He wanted so badly to bolt and never show his face again, but he knew he had to see McGee. He needed all the support he could get at the moment. When he pointed out that she was heading the wrong way, she had explained to him that Tim had been moved to St. Francis in the middle of the night, as requested by a Mister Vincent Smith.

It hadn't surprised Gibbs too much. It would make sense for Tim to go to a hospital where they had magic and knew how to deal with it than at Bethesda. But the thought of magic made him wonder why Tim hadn't used it to get out of danger. There had to be an explanation for it, especially since it would have saved McGee's life.

The nurse opened a rustic wardrobe before pushing Gibbs into it. Suddenly he was free falling through space before he came tumbling out of another wardrobe a few moments later. The room smelled like the hospital he had just left, but was much more bright and cheery. The pictures on the wall moved and laughed, almost giving Gibbs a heart attack.

Across the room was a tall, dark man who was obviously a guard. Gibbs reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his badge before the man pulled out his wand. "I'm Special Agent Gibbs," he said, "and the woman from Bethesda said that my agent was moved here last night. His name is Timothy McGee."

The guard nodded before sending a mist like creature out of his wand and into the hospital. Gibbs was temporarily confused before he remembered that the creature was called a Patronus. Tim and Tony used them often during a snowstorm in January that had knocked the power while the team was separated at a crime scene. They had kept up on each other's condition until Tim and Ziva managed to dig themselves out of the basement before coming to rescue Tony and him from the partially collapsed kitchen.

A man with bright red hair and brown eyes came into the room moments later. He smiled at Gibbs. "So your Timothy's boss." He said, "It's great to finally meet the legendary Gibbs."

At Gibbs' blank stare the doctor laughed. "You must be so confused!" he said, "My name is Doctor Arnold Gris; I was a friend of Tim's in school. We've kept in contact all these years, though not as well as we should have. I've heard many great things about you."

"Nothing bad?"

"Tim has said nothing but praise for you, even though he admitted that the two of you had reached a rough patch recently. Told me that he rather I appraise you on that then to hear his biased opinion of you these past few months."

Gibbs nodded, though he was somewhat touched. The moment that Doctor Gris said that he was a friend of Timothy he had expected the man to hex him. To hear that his agent hadn't tried to spread their bad blood to others had amazed him.

As he stood, his earlier question came to the front of his mind again. "Why didn't he use magic doc?"

Doctor Gris gave him a confused look, so the older man clarified. "When that crazy guy had Tim had gun point, why didn't he use magic to protect himself? I know what Tim's capable of, I've seen him dual Tony enough for that, but he didn't even go to get his wand. Why?"

The doctor sighed and rubbed his temples. "SecNav has a very high fear of magic." Arnold explained. "They are so afraid of it that all personal that have the ability to wield magic are told to leave their wands at home and to not use magic on the job. Well, that and the Statue of Secrecy. Most pureblood wizards have a fear of using magic in front of any muggle and Tim is no exception."

To hear that SecNav was so afraid of his agents' abilities that they rather them die in the field than use magic to save themselves made Gibbs pissed. Maybe, if they hadn't passed that damn rule, Kate would still be alive, along with Jenny and so many other people who died senseless deaths.

A few minutes later, Gibbs was standing in McGee's room, both doctor and guard long gone. He was alone with his agent. His agent that looked like death warmed over.

The man was pale, but his cheeks were a cherry red. Doctor Gris had explained to him that Tim had developed an infection, though it was expected to break soon anyway. Tim had a bright white bandage wrapped around his shoulder that was stained with a slight amount of blood. There were not machines, but bright orbs of light that seemed to work similar to their muggle counterparts. There were more moving pictures in the room, all who looked sadly at the man lying in the bed. They seemed almost as sad as Gibbs was.

Gibbs took a seat in the chair next to Tim's bed and sighed. If he didn't do it now, he knew he would never truly apologize. So he took a deep breath and began to explain to Tim why he had acted that way towards Harry and him, hoping that the younger man could hear him. He explained Sharron and Kelly and how he was so damn sad that he had lost them and how looking at him and Harry brought back those unwanted memories and what-ifs. He explained that he was sorry and that he didn't know how to handle the situation. Most of all, he explained that Tim and Harry were his family and if he lost them that he would be lost.

He must have sat there for nearly three hours just telling Tim everything. Three hours of getting everything off his chest and out into the open, of trying to fix six months' worth of hurt and anger. And he prayed that Tim would hear him.

When he was done, he noticed that he was crying. Gibbs stubbornly wiped them away. He might have been apologizing, but that wasn't a reason to go completely around the bend. He stood to leave and go back to his boat when he heard something. Looking around, he saw nothing, but suddenly noticed that there were two bright green eyes staring at him. Eyes that were no longer disgusted, but happy and relieved and very obviously tired. "I didn't think you cared." Tim croaked.

"Tim, you're stupid if you actually believed that. _I'm_ stupid for believing that."

Tim smiled and laughed. "Didn't think you could actually admit you were wrong Boss."

"Don't get used to it." Gibbs noticed a worried look overtake his agent's face. "Harry's with Vincent," he said, "and they're both fine. Vince told me that Harry's relatives were convicted and that he has the Potter's will. Anytime you want to hear it, he'll be more than happy to read it to you."

"Thanks Boss." Tim said, "I'm sorry too. I should have acted that way towards you."

"You did right kid. Harry comes first, then the team."

Tim nodded before slipping back into sleep. Gibbs smiled involuntarily as he watched his agent drift off towards the land of dreams. Everything was going to be okay. They weren't going to be perfect, but they would be okay in the end.


	10. The Will

**Author's Note:**

**Oh! Hello world! I am so glad to see that a good portion of you liked Chapter Nine! I tried to add some problems between Gibbs and Tim and I will try to not make everything okay overnight. I mean, Harry's going to have some abandonment issues. He was abandoned by his aunt and his honorary grandfather, all within less than a year. I also have a bit of an idea with the will. Please be open minded, I'm not exactly sure if people are going to like this. Well, read and review people!**

**Chapter Ten: The Will**

Tim nervously played with his tie again as he sat in the room where the Potter will was to be read. Vincent wouldn't be giving him support today, as he would be reading the will. That didn't make Tim nervous though, he could get through without the slightly older man's constant presence. No, what made him feel like he was about to puke everywhere was the fact that one Mr. Remus John Lupin would be coming to the reading. Tim knew that Remus had been one of James' school friends who had constantly helped pull pranks on unsuspecting students and teachers and had a fierce loyalty to the man and his family. That included Harry, even though he wasn't a Potter by blood. Remus sounded like a nice man, but he was terribly afraid that the younger man would to get custody of Harry.

Remus did have a right to Harry, has he was the boy's honorary uncle, but Tim wasn't going to give that to him. If he wanted Harry, why hadn't he taken the tot when he first became an orphan? It would have made the most sense, as Remus had known Harry and the Potter's much better than Petunia had and would have been able to care for Harry the way Lily would have wanted, but he hadn't. He had let Harry end up in a hellhole where he was unloved and abused. Tim knew that he was known as a forgiving man, but forgiving Remus for what had happened seemed near impossible.

There was a sudden 'pop' and Tim jumped out of his seat, startled. In the room now stood a man who appeared ragged and worn and seemed fairly tired. His eyes were a fairly bright golden brown color, though they were dull. When he spotted Tim, he gave a small, tired smile before hobbling over. He must have been in a fight recently, as the leg that was the culprit behind the hobble had been recently bandaged. "Hello there," the man said, "You must be Timothy McGee. I'm Remus."

Shock ran rampant through Tim's body. The man that Lily had spoken so highly of, who Timothy imagined had the same IQ as he had, was this poor man? He looked to be intelligent, but as if he had just come crawling of a dumpster. Tim reached out and grasped Remus' hand. "That would be me." Tim said, "I've heard a lot about you Mr. Lupin."

"Please, call me Remus," he said, "Mr. Lupin still reminds me of my father."

Tim was curious as to why the man looked so poor, but didn't vocalize his thoughts. It would be rude and uncalled for, especially since he had only known the man for only five minutes max. Remus gave another sad smile and Tim knew that his attempts to be subtle were in vain. "It's alright to be curious," he said, "Everyone is from time to time. I should let you know."

"You don't have to tell me anything." Tim said. He knew what it was like to talk about things that he didn't want to talk about. Back when the Smith's first took him in; Mrs. Smith had constantly asked him questions about how his home life had been. Mr. Smith had been somewhat distant, as they were getting a divorce and he had been fighting with Vincent a lot back then, but he had protected him when his father tried to break his wand. As much as Mr. Smith reminded Tim of DiNozzo Senior, he knew that there was one difference. Tony's dad hadn't cared for Tony at all; Vincent's dad did love Vince, which was probably why the two had started talking again. Tim made a mental note to visit both of his surrogate parents.

"I want to be able to see Harry," Remus said, "and if I don't tell you the truth and you find out another way, you'll probably never let me see him again. Bloody hell, you probably won't let me see him once you know the truth!"

"You love Harry and that's all that matters."

Remus snorted. "I'm a werewolf."

This time, the shock wasn't as bad. The full moon was just a few days ago, explaining why he looked so tired and worn. Tim knew that getting jobs in England were very hard for werewolves, as the British magical community had many laws against them. One of them was that a werewolf wasn't allowed to start a family. That explained why Remus didn't get custody of Harry.

Tim gave the man a small smile. "Do you honestly think I care?" he asked.

Remus looked completely shell-shocked. "I tend to judge people on what they do, not who they are." Tim explained, "There was a girl in my class who always hid in the corner where the sun couldn't reach her. I remember my father telling me that she was vampire and that I wasn't to go anywhere near her. The very next day I got up the courage to introduce myself. Her name was Allison and she was one of my best friends. I still keep in touch with her. If I can be best friends with a vampire, than why the hell wouldn't I accept a werewolf as my son's uncle?"

The hug that Remus gave had been unexpected, but not unwanted. Tim wanted to be on good terms with Remus, he wanted Harry to have a chance at knowing not only the mother had lost, but his step-father too.

As the two pulled away, Vincent came into the room. He gave a large grin at Tim and a polite smile at Remus. "You must be Mr. Lupin." Vincent said, "I'm Vincent Smith, Mage-in-Chief of the United States of America. Now, normally, Ms. Theresa McCoy would be handling this case as she is our cabinet member for Foreign Affairs, but I felt personally responsible for this case."

Remus looked bashful. "Thank you, sir."

"The pleasure is all mine Mr. Lupin." Vincent said. Then he turned his attention to Tim. "Are you recovering alright Tim?"

"I'm doing as well as expected Vince." Tim said. Out of the corner of his eye, Tim saw Remus' eyes widen. Tim turned to face him. "I'm a Navy cop, an equivalent to an Auror," he explained, "About a month ago I was shot and only got out of the hospital last week. Vincent is my best friend and watched Harry for me while I was there. He's reading the will because he doesn't want the will to be misread or lost again."

Remus nodded. "I've been on the wrong side of muggle guns before." Remus said.

A few moments later found Vincent calling in Tim attorney and an extra for Remus. At the confused look he received from the Brit, Vincent explained that the laws against werewolves were very much different in the United States and all werewolves were to be treated as if they were a normal wizard. The werewolf smiled and relaxed, taking a seat with Tim.

Vincent took a seat himself and grabbed the will. Clearing his throat he began, "I, James Charles Potter, and I, Lily Marie Potter nee Evans, do declare ourselves of sound mind. We declare this to be our last will and testament and revoke all wills and codicils previously made."

"We have one son named Harry James Potter, born July 31st. In the event that we die before he becomes of age, we appoint Sirius Black to be our Personal Representative to administer this Will. If Sirius Black is unwilling or unable to serve, than we appoint Alice Longbottom as our Personal Representative in his place."

"Any and all debts, taxes, and necessary funeral costs should be paid in full by the Personal Representative before any actions that are dictated in this will are to take place." Vincent paused here for a moment. "Do you know if any and all debts were paid Mr. Lupin?"

"I believe they were, but it would be much more effective to ask the goblin in charge of their accounts." Remus said.

Vincent nodded and whispered something into a multi-colored ball at the tip of his wand, than it vanished and Vince continued to read the will. "To Sirius Black, we leave ten thousand Galleons, James' Cleansweep, and custody of Harry James Potter, if his biological father is unable or unwilling to take custody."

Tim's mind was racing. James knew Harry wasn't his! Then anger took over Tim. Who was this Sirius Black and why hadn't he taken custody?

Vincent went on reading despite his friend's turmoil, "To Remus Lupin, we leave ten thousand Galleons, Lily's school journals, and James' history books. To Frank and Alice Longbottom, we leave seven thousand Galleons and our dearest cat, Ophelia. To Peter Pettigrew, we leave one Knut, as, if we were killed by You-Know-Who, he was our secret keeper and obviously betrayed us. To Petunia Dursley, we leave one Knut and a wish that you will one day come to your senses. To Timothy McGee, we leave five thousand Galleons, Lily's journals of the summer you spent together, and James' pensive."

"If we are to die before one Harry James Potter becomes of age, custody should be given to whoever is available in this order: Timothy McGee, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Arthur and Molly Weasley. In no case is Petunia Dursley or her family to ever gain custody of Harry James Potter. This is our final will and testament as of October 20th, at the Potter Cottage, Godrick's Hallow."

Tim spared a look at Remus and noticed that the younger man was crying and muttering something unintelligible. Catching Vincent's eye, Tim silently asked what he should do. Vincent shook his head and pointed to the door. "I'll bring Mr. Lupin to your house later Tim." Vince said.

Tim nodded before leaving the room and heading towards the nearest fireplace. As much as he hated the Floo, it was the quickest way home, especially since he had the fireplace installed at his house. Gibbs would be at the house watching Harry, as he had come to do in the recent week. His relationship with them man was still slightly precarious and Harry still feared that his grandfather would suddenly disappear again, but Gibbs had proved himself to be a capable and reliable babysitter when needed, so the older man was often at the house when Tim needed to handle paperwork from the hospital or legal matters like today.

Tumbling out of the fireplace, Tim coughed a little before being bombarded by a hyperactive three-year-old. Tim smiled as the little rascal wrapped his arms around his neck. His little boy was turning four in two days and Tim hoped that Remus would stay long enough to celebrate the occasion. The werewolf had missed almost as much of Harry's life as Tim had and he didn't want him to miss another minute.

"I'll never get used to you tumbling out of a fireplace McGee."

Tim smiled at his boss. "I won't either Boss."

Gibbs smiled and shook his head. "Lunch is on the table and Harry was supposed to wash his hands, but I don't think he did."

Harry looked bashful and ran off to do his grandfather's biding. "I'll see you Sunday, Tim."

"Bye boss."

Soon enough Tim was cleaning the kitchen while Harry took a nap. Tim jumped when someone knocked on his door, but relaxed when he remembered that it was probably just Vincent bringing Remus over. Drying off his hands, Tim went to open the door.

"Are you Mr. Timothy McGee?"

Tim almost jumped when he looked down. Outside was a goblin who, if his facial expression was anything to go by, wasn't pleased to be here. "Yes, that would be me."

"These are the items that were left in your possession according to the Potter will," the goblin stated, "The money was transferred to your vault and these were to be hand-delivered to you by the order of Griphook, head of the Potter vaults."

Tim politely took the offered items. "Thank you very much," he said, "May your gold always flow."

The goblin smiled at the phrase. "And may your investments be sound Mr. McGee." Then the goblin was gone.

Shutting the door, Tim quickly ran to his room. Millions of questions were running through his mind, most of them referring to the pensive that James had left. What had been so important for James to say that he had left it in a pensive for the man that his wife had cheated on him with?

Hoping and praying to Merlin that this wasn't James' equivalent to an afterlife Howler, Tim plunged his head into the bowl.

_IN THE PENSIVE_

_ Tim was in a fairly comfortable office. The rug on the floor was a simple red and the fireplace was roaring with life. In the light he could see a man that he assumed was James Potter. He was sitting at a desk with a sad face. He had obviously been crying earlier._

_ James turned his head and Tim swore that the man was seeing him. James gave a humorless chuckle before running his fingers through his hair. "How do you even do this?" he asked no one. "Dad had always given me advise on what to do if a girl cheated on me and what to do if she ended up pregnant, but not what to do if I wanted to leave a message to the man that she cheated with." Another humorless chuckle passed his lips. "Guess there's a first time for everything."_

_ "Before I say anything else, I want to tell you I'm not mad at you." James said, "At first I was in a rage. All I knew was that another man had slept with my wife and had gotten her pregnant. I was tempted to go to America and hunt you down, make you feel the pain that I felt when I learned that the love of my life had cheated on me. Then Lily explained the affair to me and I learned that you thought she was being honest when she told you that she was single. She showed me a picture of you and all I could see was the little things Harry got from you. I'm still upset with Lily, but not with you. You were an innocent roped into a situation you didn't fully understand. At least, I hope you didn't fully understand."_

_ "Most men would divorce their wife and abandon the child that wasn't theirs. That isn't me. The moment I saw Harry for the first time, I fell in love with the little baby. He was absolutely perfect and, even after I learned that he wasn't mine, he was still perfect. If you didn't want him, I would have gladly raised him as my own. Now, it seems as if I won't ever have my own."_

_ Tim felt the tears running down his cheeks. He wished now more than ever that Harry hadn't been his. Tim still had a chance to fall in love and start a family. James didn't have that choice now, he was dead._

_ "If you're thinking that Harry shouldn't have been yours, then you might as well stop that right now." James said, suddenly looking like a little boy that was caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "To be honest, if you hadn't got my wife pregnant, she would have never been. I found out after our wedding that I was… well, to put it into simple terms, not able to produce enough of the little guys to actually get a girl pregnant. So, in a way, I guess I should thank you."_

_ "Thank you for giving Lily the best gift she could ever ask for," James continued, "and thank you for giving me a son that I could love as my own. You probably will never hear this if we survive, but the lunatic is after us, so I highly doubt we'll be able to watch Harry grow up. I hope that, even though Harry is probably going to be the biggest surprise of your life, you'll love him like I did. Thank you."_

_OUT OF THE PENSIVE_

Tim wasn't surprised when he came out the pensive crying. James had known, though probably not for very long, that Harry wasn't his. And the man _still_ loved him. His own father hadn't loved him, but James had been able to love his son like his own. That meant the world to Tim.

Suddenly there was a hand on Tim's shoulder and he jumped. Rubbing away the tears, he faced Vincent and Remus, both who looked extremely worried. "Are you alright Tim?" Vincent asked, pulling his friend into a one-armed hug.

"I'll be fine in a few minutes Vince." Tim hiccupped. Then he turned his attention to Remus. "There's a spare bed in the office. You can stay there. Don't even say you can't, I want you to be there on Harry's birthday."

"He probably won't even recognize me."

Tim spotted Harry in the doorway, looking as if Santa Claus had come early. "You'd be surprised Remus. The kid has a memory like an elephant."

Before Remus could get out another word, he was tackled by Harry, who was saying 'Uncle Moony!' in the loudest voice Tim had ever heard Harry use. Remus looked like he was about to cry. Tim gave a shaky smile. He had so many questions for Remus, but they could wait. The werewolf needed to hold Harry close. He needed to make sure he wouldn't disappear.

Even though he was still crying, Tim was happy. His little boy had gotten back his uncle and he got to keep the tyke. All was right in the world of Timothy McGee.


End file.
